Abstract
ABSTRACTThis research was conducted to identify the optimum harvest maturity stage/s that yielded the highest nutritional quality and longest marketable shelf-life. “TY Megaton” and “Yureka” cultivars were harvested at the breaker, pink, and red stages and stored up to 20 days at 12°C with 85 ± 5% relative humidity (RH). Quality attributes, the contents of important secondary metabolites, and antioxidant activity were assessed during the storage period. Storing and marketing of tomato fruits up to 3 weeks could be possible. However, a gradually decreasing trend of ascorbic acid and total phenolic content was observed as the maturity stage and storage period proceeded, irrespective of the cultivar. Results of lycopene content and antioxidant activity suggest that better nutritional benefit from the breaker and pink stages could be obtained after 16 and 12 days of storage, respectively, and from the beginning to eighth day of storage for the red stage.
Highlights
The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a Solanaceae vegetable crop that believed to have originated from the Andean region of South America; its popularity during the last halfcentury causes an expanded cultivation to large scale (Preedy & Watson, 2008)
Tomatoes are widely consumed in different forms and can provide a significant amount of secondary metabolites which are responsible for providing free radical scavenging effects (Borguini & Torres, 2009; Lenucci, Cadinu, Taurino, Piro, & Dalessandro, 2006)
The aim of this work was to identify the optimum harvest maturity stage/s for better nutritional quality and longer marketability of the common locally grown “TY Megaton” and “Yureka” tomato cultivars stored at 12°C and 85 ± 5% relative humidity (RH)
Summary
The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a Solanaceae vegetable crop that believed to have originated from the Andean region of South America; its popularity during the last halfcentury causes an expanded cultivation to large scale (Preedy & Watson, 2008). Tomato is an economically important crop, with a worldwide production of 177.04 million tons from 4.78 million ha valued at $95.62 billion. China leads the global tomato cultivation, producing about 56.42 million tons annually, followed by India, which produces 18.40 million tons (FAOSTAT, 2016). According to FAOSTAT (2016), tomato production in the Republic of Korea was 466,992 tons from 7,132 ha in 2016, which was valued at $682.43 million. Tomatoes are widely consumed in different forms and can provide a significant amount of secondary metabolites which are responsible for providing free radical scavenging effects (Borguini & Torres, 2009; Lenucci, Cadinu, Taurino, Piro, & Dalessandro, 2006). The development of variety of cancers (Giovannucci, Rimm, Liu, Stampfer, & Willett, 2002; Martí, Roselló, & Cebolla-Cornejo, 2016) and cardiovascular diseases (Rao & Rao, 2007; Sesso, Liu, Gaziano, & Buring, 2003) have been shown to be prevented through the regular and sufficient intake of fresh tomatoes or tomato products
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