Quality Attributes of Chitosan-Coated Cornelian Cherry (<i>Cornus mas</i> L.) Fruits under Different Storage Temperatures
Asghar Ebrahimzadeh,
Maryam Esmaeili,
Hamid Hassanpour,
Mohammad Bagher Hassanpouraghdam,
Sezai Ercisli,
Mehmet Ramazan Bozhuyuk,
Libor Dokoupil,
Jiri Mlcek
Affiliations
Asghar Ebrahimzadeh
Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh 55181-83111, Iran
Maryam Esmaeili
Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh 55181-83111, Iran
Hamid Hassanpour
Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia 57561-51818, Iran
Mohammad Bagher Hassanpouraghdam
Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh 55181-83111, Iran
Sezai Ercisli
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ataturk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey
Mehmet Ramazan Bozhuyuk
Department of Plant and Animal Production, Vocational School of Technical Sciences, Igdir University, Igdir 76100, Turkey
Libor Dokoupil
Department of Breeding and Propagation of Horticultural Plants, Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno, Valtická 337, 69144 Lednice, Czech Republic
Jiri Mlcek
Department of Food Analysis and Chemistry, Faculty of Technology, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Vavreckova 275, 76001 Zlín, Czech Republic
Temperature is the dominant environmental stimulus that influences the postharvest quality, visual appearance, and nutritional content of fruits. Temperature hastens fruit ripening and senescence by the impact on respiration rate and the acceleration of metabolic reactions. This study was conducted to select the optimized temperature for preserving the quality-related traits and antioxidant potential of cornelian cherry fruits after harvest. The fruits were treated with 1% chitosan and then kept under 0, 5, 10, and 21 °C for 21 days. The results revealed that fruits kept under lower than room temperature (21 °C) better retained antioxidant capacity and had higher levels of phenolics, flavonoids, and anthocyanins and even higher antioxidant enzyme activity, hence attaining prolonged postharvest life. Considering the quantity attributes and the shelf life, the temperature of choice was 0 °C. Zero temperature was also the best to keep the antioxidant capacity of cornelian cherry fruits. Overall, the results showed that low temperature and chitosan pretreatment provide an efficient method for maintaining the nutritional quality and antioxidant capacity of cornelian cherry fruits during storage time.
