Abstract
Peach is a putrescible fruit thus drastically restricting its postharvest storage life. In recent years, the application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and nitric oxide (NO) in postharvest fruit quality control has received considerable attention and investigative efforts due to the advantages of using relatively low concentrations and short-time treatment duration. In the present study, the effects of various 1-MCP and NO treatments on peach fruit (Prunus persica L. cv. Xiahui-8) stored at 25 °C were evaluated and compared. Results indicated that the combination treatment with both chemical agents (MN) was most effective in postponing peach ripening and preserving fruit quality, followed by 1-MCP and NO treatment alone. We also demonstrated that NO could delay fruit senescence mainly by stimulating antioxidant enzymes, while 1-MCP overly outperformed NO in the treatment of ‘Xiahui-8′ peach in slowing down respiration rate, inhibiting ethylene production, maintaining high firmness and reducing ROS content. NO treatment showed a greater influence on phenolic compounds than 1-MCP especially anthocyanins, flavanones and flavones according to LC/MS analysis. The phenolic change in MN group were highly associated to NO treatment. Through this study we provide informative physiological, biochemical and molecular evidence for the beneficial effects of the combined 1-MCP and NO treatment on peach fruit based on a functional synergy between these two chemical agents.
Highlights
Unlike other rosaceous fruit like apple or pear, peach (Prunus persica L.) is well known for the relatively short shelf-life of fruits due to high respiration rates, accelerated fruit ripening and fast flesh softening process that could significantly impede marketing and sales and lower commercial value
Other research reports have shown that free radical gas nitric oxide (NO) has anti-senescence properties similar to those of 1-MCP, which has been observed in tests with different fruits and vegetables [7]
The combined 1-MCP and NO treatment showed the best effect on the improvement of postharvest fruit quality by maintaining good physical characteristics, decelerating fruit firmness, inhibiting ROS production, activating antioxidant enzymes and postponing fruit ripening and senescence
Summary
Unlike other rosaceous fruit like apple or pear, peach (Prunus persica L.) is well known for the relatively short shelf-life of fruits due to high respiration rates, accelerated fruit ripening and fast flesh softening process that could significantly impede marketing and sales and lower commercial value. There is an urgent need to develop effective strategies for postharvest handling and storage in order to prolong shelf-life while maintaining consumer-desired fruit quality Towards this goal, several previous studies investigated the use of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and nitric oxide (NO) for postharvest treatment in peach fruits and demonstrated their high efficacy for delaying fruit ripening and senescence at relatively low concentrations and short treatment time duration [1,2,3]. Fumigation treatments of climacteric and non-climacteric fruits with NO, later known as an ethylene antagonist, were found highly effective to considerably extend fruit postharvest life and delay senescence [5,6] Likewise, another ethylene inhibitor 1-MCP has been utilized in the postharvest treatment of fruits and vegetables due to its pronounced effects to dramatically delay ripening, lower ethylene production and respiratory rate and maintain desirable quality [1]. To the best of our knowledge, no reports are available that describe the combined use of these two chemical agents and investigate if there are any synergistic effects as compared to single chemical treatment on peach ripening and senescence
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