Abstract
The increased demand for potato by the Brazilian processing industry requires long term refrigerated storage, but after a few months, natural dormancy ends, and sprouts start to grow. Thus, sprout inhibitors are necessary to reduce the rate of growth and allow further storage. The purpose of research described here was to determine the effects clove and menthol essential oils have on the inhibition of sprout growth in non-dormant ‘Asterix’ tubers. Both eugenol and menthol treatments reduced the rate of sprout growth during storage at 8oC for up to 50 days. Eugenol and menthol essential oils diminished the rate of accumulation of reducing sugar, which are responsible for browning of French fries. Color after frying was within acceptable levels when the tubers were treated with eugenol or menthol essential oils.
Highlights
The objectives of this work were to determine the efficacy of eugenol and menthol essential oils as sprout suppressants and their effects on tuber sugar metabolism
Tubers treated with menthol showed the least number and shortest sprouts, which were reduced by 25.3 and 61.8% respectively, compared to controls (Table 1)
The efficiency of clove oil or menthol in burning the sprouts seems to be related to the source and tissue from which the essential oils were extracted, as well as the timing of application and potato cultivar (Kleinkopf et al, 2003; Gómez-Castillo, Cruz, Iguaz, Arroqui, & Vírsed, 2013; Abbasi et al, 2015)
Summary
According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT, 2017), total area planted to potatoes in the world corresponds to 19.1 million hectares, with an overall production of 382 million tons. Minas Gerais is the largest Brazilian potato producing state with an estimated annual production of over 1.9 million tons (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística [IBGE], 2017). Most potatoes are consumed by the fresh market, there is an increased demand by the food processing industry for a year-round supply of tubers. It is estimated that in 2017, the area devoted to potato growing for the industry increased by 11.8% compared to 2016, and equaled 20 thousand hectares (IBGE, 2017). The Brazilian market for frozen French fries and potato chips is growing at a rate of 15% per year. In order to maintain a constant flow of raw potatoes to meet this demand, it is necessary to store tubers for long periods
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