Effect of Chitosan/Thyme Oil Coating and UV-C on the Softening and Ripening of Postharvest Blueberry Fruits
Haiyan Sun,
Danqing Hao,
Yun Tian,
Yigang Huang,
Yulin Wang,
Gongwei Qin,
Jinjin Pei,
A. M. Abd El-Aty
Affiliations
Haiyan Sun
National Engineering Research Center for Preservation of Agricultural Products in Qinba Area Preservation Workstation, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Resource Biology, 2011 Qinling-Bashan Mountains Bioresources Comprehensive Development C. I. C, Qinba National Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment, College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China
Danqing Hao
National Engineering Research Center for Preservation of Agricultural Products in Qinba Area Preservation Workstation, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Resource Biology, 2011 Qinling-Bashan Mountains Bioresources Comprehensive Development C. I. C, Qinba National Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment, College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China
Yun Tian
National Engineering Research Center for Preservation of Agricultural Products in Qinba Area Preservation Workstation, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Resource Biology, 2011 Qinling-Bashan Mountains Bioresources Comprehensive Development C. I. C, Qinba National Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment, College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China
Yigang Huang
National Engineering Research Center for Preservation of Agricultural Products in Qinba Area Preservation Workstation, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Resource Biology, 2011 Qinling-Bashan Mountains Bioresources Comprehensive Development C. I. C, Qinba National Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment, College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China
Yulin Wang
National Engineering Research Center for Preservation of Agricultural Products in Qinba Area Preservation Workstation, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Resource Biology, 2011 Qinling-Bashan Mountains Bioresources Comprehensive Development C. I. C, Qinba National Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment, College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China
Gongwei Qin
National Engineering Research Center for Preservation of Agricultural Products in Qinba Area Preservation Workstation, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Resource Biology, 2011 Qinling-Bashan Mountains Bioresources Comprehensive Development C. I. C, Qinba National Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment, College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China
Jinjin Pei
National Engineering Research Center for Preservation of Agricultural Products in Qinba Area Preservation Workstation, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Resource Biology, 2011 Qinling-Bashan Mountains Bioresources Comprehensive Development C. I. C, Qinba National Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment, College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China
A. M. Abd El-Aty
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza 12211, Egypt
This study investigated the possible mechanism of softening and senescence of blueberry after harvest using chitosan/thyme oil coating combined with UV-C (short wave ultraviolet irradiation) treatment. On the 56th day of storage, the CBP, cellulose, and hemicellulose contents in the chitosan/thyme oil coating +UV-C-treated group were 1.41, 1.65, and 1.20 times higher than those in the control group. Compared with the control group, the activities of polygalacturonase (PG), pectin methylesterase (PME), β-glucosidase (β-Gal), and cellulose (Cx) were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) after chitosan/thyme oil coating +UV-C, and their maximum values decreased by 5.41 μg/h g, 5.40 U/g, 12.41 U/g, and 3.85 μg/h g, respectively. Moreover, chitosan/thyme oil coating combined with UV-C treatment inhibited the gene expression of PG, PME, Cx, and β-Gal and then regulated the decrease in PG, PME, Cx, and β-Gal activities, inhibited the degradation of cell wall polysaccharides, and delayed the softening and senescence of postharvest blueberries. The results showed that chitosan/thyme oil coating, UV-C, and chitosan/thyme oil coating + UV-C could significantly inhibit postharvest softening of blueberry; chitosan/thyme oil coating +UV-C had the best effect.
