Effect of Near-Freezing Temperature Storage on Postharvest Quality and Antioxidant Activity of Jabuticaba

Abstract

In this study, ‘Sabará’ jabuticaba fruit were stored at (5.0 ± 0.2) ℃ or near-freezing temperature ((0.0 ± 0.2) ℃), and evaluated for changes in quality attributes and antioxidant activity after 18 days. The results showed that compared with storage at 5 ℃, near-freezing temperature treatment could effectively reduce the rate of mass loss and decay rate, maintain the contents of soluble solids, titratable acid and vitamin C (VC), and inhibit the activities of pyruvate decarboxylase and ethanol dehydrogenase in the fruit. Moreover, near-freezing temperature treatment delayed the decrease in the contents of total phenols and flavonoids, improved the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), slowed down the decline in the activity of peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), delayed the increase in superoxide anion radical (O2−·) production rate and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, and retarded the accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the increase in the permeability of the cell membrane. Therefore, near-freezing temperature storage could delay ethanol fermentation and improve antioxidant properties of jabuticaba fruit, thereby maintaining its storage quality.

Keywords

• jabuticaba; near-freezing temperature storage; postharvest quality; antioxidant activity