Use of the nitric oxide-donor compound, diethylenetriamine-nitric oxide (DETANO), as an inhibitor of browning in apple slices

Abstract

SummaryFreshly-cut slices of apple (Malus domestica Borkh. ‘Granny Smith’) were dipped in a solution of the nitric oxide-donor compound, 2,2’-(hydroxynitrosohydrazino)-bis-ethanamine (diethylenetriamine-nitric oxide; DETANO) and the development of surface browning was examined during subsequent storage at 0°C. It was found that dipping in DETANO solution inhibited the development of browning, provided the solution was buffered to be slightly acidic. The most effective treatment to inhibit browning, and therefore to extend post-harvest life, was dipping for 60 s in a solution of 10 mg l–1 DETANO dissolved in phosphate buffer at pH 6.5. The extension in post-harvest life achieved by DETANO, over untreated slices, was about 170% and the extension in post-harvest life compared to water-dipped slices was about 100%. Solutions of buffered DETANO were found to be stable, as a similar extension in post-harvest life was obtained for five separate batches of apple slices dipped sequentially, five-times for 60 s each, over a 20 min period in the same solution.