The Browning Properties, Antioxidant Activity, and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Improvement of Aged Oranges (<i>Citrus sinensis</i>)

Abstract

Oranges contain many natural active chemicals, organic acids, and polysaccharides. Aging processing is commonly used to modify the color, quality, functional components, and stability of fruits. This study assesses the preparation of aging black oranges using various pre-treatments and solid fermentation. Oranges were aged for six weeks in fresh, non-blanching, blanching, and hot air-assisted aging cycle (AA) groups. The oranges’ shrinkage ratio, color difference values, and soluble solids content changed significantly (p p < 0.05). AA had superior α-glucosidase inhibitory ability increasing from 67.31 to 80.48%. It also reduced the development time by 33%. Therefore, aging technology can enhance the bioactive compounds in oranges and provide a reference for future whole-fruit aging fermentation and health product creation.

Keywords

• orange
• aging process
• solid state fermentation
• browning reaction
• antioxidant activity
• α-glucosidase inhibitory ability