Abstract
In the present study, the possibility of enhancing phenolic and flavonoid concentration in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruits by post-harvest irradiation with UV-B light was assessed. Fruits of the commercial cv Money Maker (MM) and the mutant genotype high pigment-1 (hp-1), constitutively rich in these compounds, were harvested at mature green and turning stages and left to ripen within climatic chambers where they were daily treated with UV-B radiation (1 h, 6.08 kJ/m2 day). In control chambers, UV-B radiation was screened by benzophenone-treated polyethylene film. The treatment was generally effective in increasing phenolic, flavonoid and flavonol concentration in both peel and flesh of MM and hp-1 fruits, although in this latter the positive response to UV-B treatment was mainly evident in fruits harvested at mature green stage. Following UV-B treatment, antioxidant activity increased in the peel of both genotypes independently from the harvesting stage and in the flesh of hp-1 fruits harvested at mature green stage. Hydroxycinnamic acids of both genotypes reacted to UV-B treatment differently depending on harvesting stage and tissue localisation, generally showing an increase in the peel of fruits harvested at mature green stage. With few exceptions, UV-B irradiation also induced a higher accumulation of individual flavonoids both in the peel and in the flesh of MM and hp-1 fruits independently from harvesting stage. Based on these results, UV-B irradiation can be considered a promising technique to increase the nutraceutical potential of tomato fruits by non-molecular tools.
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