Researchers from the CRA in Caserta tested the efficacy of chitosan-based coating to delay the post-harvest senescence of Ferrovia, Lapins and Della Recca cherries and the effects of its anti-oxidant activity.
Cherries were submerged for 60 seconds into a solution containing 0-5% of chitosan, then stored at 2°C for 14 days and sampled upon harvesting and after 7 and 14 days of cool storage. Subsamples were maintained at 24°C for three days to test the shelf-life of the fruit, assessing malondialdehyde content, the enzyme activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), guaiacol peroxidase (POD) and lipoxygenase (LOX).
The results showed that coating the fruit with chitosan strengthened the activity of some antioxidant enzymes such as SOD and APX while it inhibited the browning of the flesh thus extending the shelf-life. In addition, chitosan maintained the cell membrane intact and delayed the activity of LOX and the accumulation of malondialdehyde.
The statistical analysis of the main components enabled researchers to have a global vision of how the three cultivars react to the coating. Fruit coated with chitosan had a better shelf-life and Della Recca cherries did better than the Ferrovia and Lapins varieties.
Test results will are available online at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925521415300338
Source: Pasquariello M.S., Di Patre D., Mastrobuoni F., Zampella L., Scortichini M., Petriccione M., 'Influence of postharvest chitosan treatment on enzymatic browning and antioxidant enzyme activity in sweet cherry fruit', 2015, Postharvest Biology and Technology, Vol. 109, 45-56.
Contacts:
Milena Petriccione
Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'Analisi dell'Economia Agraria (C.R.A.)
Fruit Trees Unit Research
Via Torrino 3
81100 Caserta, Italy
Email: milena.petriccione@entecra.it