Hydrogen sulfide and phenylalanine alleviate chilling injury in eggplant fruits during cold storage by enhancing antioxidant activities and membrane stability

Abstract

In this experiment, the exogenous application of hydrogen sulfide (H2S; 1, 2 or 3 mM) and phenylalanine (PA; 2.5, 5, or 7.5 mM) to alleviate chilling injury and enhancing antioxidant activity and membrane stability of eggplant fruits (Solanum melongena cv. Hadrian) during storage at 7℃ for 21 days was investigated. Results indicated that H2S and PA alleviated chilling injury and reduced electrolyte leakage percentage and malondialdehyde accumulation. Exogenous application of H2S and PA maintained significantly higher levels of proline, total phenols, and flavonoids. It was also found that H2S and PA reduced the hydrogen peroxide accumulation with up-regulated activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase. These results indicated that H2S and PA alleviated chilling injury of eggplant fruit may through the enhancement of reactive oxygen species scavenging system activity, proline, and phenolic accumulation. Practical applications Eggplant fruits are a good source of anthocyanin, phenolic compounds, and vitamins. Low temperature storage is effective for preserving nutritional quality during storage time, however, eggplant fruits are chilling sensitive. We investigated the effect of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and phenylalanine (PA) to alleviate chilling injury in eggplant fruits during cold storage. H2S and PA treatments ameliorated chilling injury in eggplant fruit with decreasing electrolyte leakage percentage and malondialdehyde accumulation. Eggplant fruit treated with H2S and PA exhibited higher 2, 2,-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl-scavenging capacity resulting from enhancing enzymatic antioxidant activities and increasing proline and phenolic compound accumulation.