The Effect of Hydrothermal Treatment on Metabolite Composition of Hass Avocados Stored in a Controlled Atmosphere.

Rosana Chirinos,Indira Betalleluz-Pallardel,Romina Pedreschi,Sílfida Llanos,David Campos,Diego García-Ríos,Sofía Martínez

doi:10.3390/plants10112427

Rosana Chirinos, Indira Betalleluz-Pallardel + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10112427

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Abstract

Avocado cv. Hass consumption has expanded worldwide given its nutritional, sensory, and functional attributes. In this work, avocado fruit from two harvests was subjected to hydrothermal treatment (38 °C for 1 h) or left untreated (control) and then stored for 30 and 50 days in a controlled atmosphere (4 kPa O2 and 6 kPa CO2 at 7 °C) (HTCA and CA, respectively) with subsequent ripening at ~20 °C. The fruit was evaluated for primary and secondary metabolites at harvest, after storage, and after reaching edible ripeness. A decrease from harvest to edible ripeness in mannoheptulose and perseitol was observed while β-sitosterol, hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant activity (H-AOX, L-AOX), abscisic acid, and total phenolics (composed of p-coumaric and caffeic acids such as aglycones or their derivatives) increased. HTCA fruit at edible ripeness displayed higher contents of mannoheptulose, perseitol, β-sitosterol, L-AOX, caffeic acid, and p-coumaric acid derivatives, while CA fruit presented higher contents of α-tocopherol, H-AOX, and syringic acid glycoside for both harvests and storage times. The results indicate that a hydrothermal treatment prior to CA enables fruit of high nutritional value characterized by enhanced content of phenolic compounds at edible ripeness to reach distant markets.

Highlights

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a fruit widely appreciated and demanded throughout the world
As a function of all the results presented, well-documented differences between early and middle harvest fruit were evidenced and explain the different ripening behavior between early and middle harvest fruit in terms of ripening speed, at least when considering the amount of C7 sugars, the main respiratory substrates in avocado fruit
Mannoheptulose and perseitol decreased while β-sitosterol, abscicic acid (ABA), H-AOX, L-AOX, and total phenolic compounds evaluated by UPLC-MS/MS significantly increased (p < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a fruit widely appreciated and demanded throughout the world It is considered an excellent source of nutrients and phytochemicals with remarkable bioactive properties [1]. Among the main producing and exporting countries are Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Spain [7] These countries have very different climatic conditions and management systems, which leads to great variation in the chemical composition of the commercialized fruit and in their postharvest performance [8]. Postharvest technology and treatments are imperative to ensure the provision of a high internal and external quality, besides satisfying the demands of the consumer related to nutrition and health attributes, which is directly linked to the presence of primary and secondary metabolites of the mesocarp

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