Effects of Atmospheric Cold Plasma Treatment on the Storage Quality and Chlorophyll Metabolism of Postharvest Tomato
Sitong Jia,
Na Zhang,
Haipeng Ji,
Xiaojun Zhang,
Chenghu Dong,
Jinze Yu,
Shijie Yan,
Cunkun Chen,
Liya Liang
Affiliations
Sitong Jia
College of Food Science and Biological Engineering, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China
Na Zhang
National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Products, Key Laboratory of Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
Haipeng Ji
National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Products, Key Laboratory of Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
Xiaojun Zhang
College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Chenghu Dong
National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Products, Key Laboratory of Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
Jinze Yu
National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Products, Key Laboratory of Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
Shijie Yan
College of Food Science and Biological Engineering, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China
Cunkun Chen
National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Products, Key Laboratory of Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
Liya Liang
College of Food Science and Biological Engineering, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China
Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is a potential green preservation technology, but its preservation mechanism is still unclear, and the effects of different plasma intensities on postharvest tomatoes are little studied. In this study, the effects of different ACP treatments (0 kV, 40 kV, 60 kV, and 80 kV) on the sensory quality, physiological indexes, key enzyme activities, and gene expression related to the chlorophyll metabolism of postharvest tomatoes were investigated during the storage time. The results showed that compared with the control group, the tomatoes in the plasma treatment group had a higher hardness and total soluble solid (TSS) and titratable acid (TA) contents, a lower respiratory intensity and weight loss rate, a higher brightness, and a lower red transformation rate, especially in the 60 kV treatment group. In addition, chlorophyll degradation, carotenoid accumulation, and chlorophyllase and pheophorbide a mono-oxygenase (PAO) enzyme activities in the postharvest tomatoes were inhibited in the 60 kV treatment group, and the expressions of three key genes related to chlorophyll metabolism, chlorophyll (CLH1), pheophytinase (PPH), and red chlorophyll catabolic reductase (RCCR) were down-regulated. The results of the correlation analysis also confirmed that the enzyme activity and gene expression of the chlorophyll metabolism were regulated by the ACP treatment, aiming to maintain the greenness of postharvest tomatoes.
