Effect of Cold Plasma Treatment on the Softening of Winter Jujubes (<i>Ziziphus jujuba</i> Mill. cv. Dongzao)
Sitong Jia,
Na Zhang,
Chenghu Dong,
Pufan Zheng,
Haipeng Ji,
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
Institute of Agricultural Products Preservation and Processing Technology (National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Product), Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
Chenghu Dong
Institute of Agricultural Products Preservation and Processing Technology (National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Product), Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
Pufan Zheng
Institute of Agricultural Products Preservation and Processing Technology (National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Product), Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
Haipeng Ji
Institute of Agricultural Products Preservation and Processing Technology (National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Product), Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
Jinze Yu
Institute of Agricultural Products Preservation and Processing Technology (National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Product), Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, 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
Institute of Agricultural Products Preservation and Processing Technology (National Engineering Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agriculture Product), Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
Liya Liang
College of Agronomy and Resources and Environment, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China
Cold plasma (CP) is a green and efficient preservation technology, but its effect on preventing the postharvest softening of fruits and vegetables is still unclear, and the effects of different CP intensities on the postharvest softening of winter jujubes (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. cv. Dongzao) have been little studied. In this study, we investigated the effects of different CP intensities (0 kV, 40 kV, and 80 kV) on the postharvest storage quality of winter jujubes and the activities of key enzymes related to softening during storage. The results showed that compared with the control group, the contents of firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and vitamin C (VC) in the CP treatment group were higher and the respiratory intensity and weight loss rate were lower. In addition, CP treatment can also inhibit the degradation of protopectin and cellulose and the accumulation of soluble pectin. Moreover, CP treatment inhibited the activities of polygalacturonase (PG), pectin methyl esterase (PME), 3α-L-arabinoside (α-L-Af), 4β-galactosidase (β-gal), cellulase (Cx), and β-glucosidase (β-Glu). This shows that CP treatment has a positive effect on the preservation of winter jujubes, and the preservation effect of the 80 kV treatment was better than that of the 40 kV treatment. This provides a certain basis for cold plasma treatment in the preservation of winter jujubes.
