Retaining overall quality of fresh figs by postharvest hexanal vapor treatment during cold storage

Abstract

Figs (Ficus carica L.) are rich in nutrients, but their rapid metabolic changes due to the climacteric respiratory behavior during ripening make them a highly perishable commodity, which leads to quick deterioration in quality and a shortening storage period. In this study, the influence of hexanal vapor (0.01% or 0.02% introduced as HEX-I and HEX-II, respectively) treatments were evaluated on ‘Abbas’ figs during storage at 4 ± 1 °C, 90% RH for 18 d. Both concentrations of hexanal treatments delay senescence while retaining quality, as indicated by a greener fruit peel (lower a* value), higher pulp firmness, membrane stability index (MSI), titratable acidity (TA), and lower total soluble solids (TSS), weight loss, and TSS/acid ratio than the untreated fruit. Total content of phenol (TPC), flavonoid (TFC), and vitamin C, as well as free radical scavenging capacity (FRSC) were higher in hexanal-treated fruit as compared to untreated fruit. All hexanal-treated fruit had lower hydrolytic enzyme and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activity but higher catalase (CAT) and peroxidase activity (POD) than the control. Decay incidence (DI) and microbial counts (MC) (mold and yeast) increased during storage but were suppressed in all treated fruit. Though both concentrations of hexanal were effective in retaining quality and delaying senescence, the higher concentration was more effective than the lower one. Therefore, hexanal vapor at 0.02% can be used to preserve quality and prolong the storage period of ‘Abbas’ figs under low-temperature storage conditions.