Postharvest methyl salicylate treatments delay ripening and maintain quality attributes and antioxidant compounds of ‘Early Lory’ sweet cherry

Abstract

The effect of postharvest application of methyl salicylate (MeSA) at two concentrations (0.1 and 1mM) on quality attributes, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity was studied in ‘Early Lory’ sweet cherry. MeSA treatments were effective in reducing respiration rate, weight loss, softening, total acidity losses and the increase in the ripening index during storage at 2°C for 20days as compared with non-treated control fruit. In addition, total phenolics, total anthocyanins and total antioxidant activity (TAA) in the hydrophilic extract (H-TAA) remained at higher concentrations at the end of storage in treated fruit. High correlations were found between H-TAA and phenolics or anthocyanin concentrations and between lipophilic TAA (L-TAA) and total carotenoids. Overall, results demonstrated that MeSA applied as postharvest vapours is an effective and environmentally friendly tool to maintain sweet cherry quality during storage with enhanced bioactive compounds concentration and antioxidant activity.