Abstract
Peel browning disorder has an enormous impact on the exterior quality of ‘Huangguan’ pear whereas the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Although different methods have been applied for inhibiting the peel browning of ‘Huangguan’ pear, there are numerous issues associated with these approaches, such as time cost, efficacy, safety and stability. In this study, to develop a rapid, efficient and safe way to protect ‘Huangguan’ pear from skin browning, the effect of exogenous ethylene on peel browning of pear fruits stored at 0°C was evaluated. Results showed that ethylene treatments at 0.70–1.28 μL/L significantly decreased the browning rate and browning index from 73.80% and 0.30 to 6.80% and 0.02 after 20 days storage at 0°C, respectively, whereas ethylene treatments at 5 μL/L completely inhibited the occurrence of browning. In addition, ethylene treatments at 5 μL/L decreased the electrolyte leakage and respiration rate, delayed the loss of total phenolic compounds. Furthermore, ethylene (5 μL/L) treatment significantly enhanced the activity of catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and increased the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibition rate, but inhibited the activity of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD). Our data revealed that ethylene prevented the peel browning through improving antioxidant enzymes (CAT, APX and SOD) activities and reducing PPO activity, electrolyte leakage rate and respiration rate. This study demonstrates that exogenous ethylene application may provide a safe and effective alternative method for controlling browning, and contributes to the understanding of peel browning of ‘Huangguan’ pear.
Highlights
Though ethylene was widely used for the ripening of fruits, the present research studied the effects of ethylene treatments on peel browning inhibition of ‘Huangguan’ pear
Ethylene treatments at 50 μL/L exhibited no significant influence on titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS) and firmness of fruits stored at 0◦C for 100 and 200 days (Supplementary Table S1)
We found that the peel browning mainly occurred at the early storage stage, which is consistent with the investigations of many postharvest industries in the production area
Summary
Huangguan) is a new cultivar with comprehensive qualities and widely planted in northern China (Wang, 1998). A surface brown disorder in the peel ( known as chicken-claw disease by farmers in China) often occurs before harvest or during early stage of storage. Symptom in the affected area of the peel is lightly brown at first, and becomes darker as the disorder progresses. The disorder usually only affects the peel of fruits but not the flesh. The surface brown disorder often seriously impacts on the exterior quality of ‘Huangguan’ pear and causes enormous economic loss
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