Polypropylene packaging alleviates the quality deterioration of Lentinus edodes through antioxidant system and phenylpropane pathway

Abstract

Lentinus edodes (L. edodes) is a popular edible mushroom, which is very easy to rot and deteriorate after harvest. The quality of L. edodes were significantly affected by different packaging materials. Hence, polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) packaging were employed to explore the effects and underlying mechanisms on the post-harvested quality of L. edodes. Compared with PE packaging, PP packaging could maintain good storage quality and membrane integrity of L. edodes by reducing oxidative damage, which might be related to the significantly decreased relative electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content at the later stage of storage. Also, PP packaging could improve the antioxidant ability and inhibit the production of H2O2 by the decreased catalase and increased superoxide dismutase content. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase and cinnamaldehyde dehydrogenase, as the key enzymes in the metabolic pathway of phenylpropane, increased at the later storage of PP-packaged L. edodes. It helped the synthesis of phenolic substances and lignin accumulation. These results indicated PP packaging could be an effective material for maintaining the postharvest storage quality of L. edodes, which might be related to the antioxidant system and phenylpropane pathway.