The biochemical attributes of African star apple fruits are influenced by salicylic acid treatment during ambient storage

Abstract

African star apple (Chrysophyllum albidum) is considered a rich source of bioactive and nutritive chemicals, including flavonoids, phenolics, and carotenoids. This research was conducted to explore the effect of salicylic acid treatment on sugar levels in addition to non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants activities of Chrysophyllum albidum fruits during ambient storage. For this purpose, ripe, healthy fruits of C. albidum were treated with varying doses of salicylic acid (0.1 mM, 0.2 mM, 0.4 mM) for 5, 10, and 15 min at each concentration. The treated fruits were kept at 28 ± 2 °C and a relative humidity of 90 ± 5% for 15 days. The total flavonoids, total phenols, and ascorbic acid of salicylic acid-treated fruits increased considerably compared to untreated fruits after the storage period. When compared with other treated samples, the untreated control samples exhibited the highest overall sugar content, non-reducing sugar content, reducing sugar content, and catalase activity. On the other hand, 0.4 mM salicylic acid treatment for 15 minutes resulted in the highest phenol, flavonoid, and ascorbic acid contents, while 0.4 mM salicylic acid treatment for 15 minutes resulted in the highest value of carotenoids content. Furthermore, salicylic acid treatments preserved ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities. The results showed that 0.2 and 0.4 mM salicylic acid treatments for 15 minutes were the most effective in retaining the investigated fruit biochemical features.

Keywords

• chrysophyllum albidum
• african star apple
• salicylic acid
• storage
• antioxidants