ISHS Acta Horticulturae 343: Physiological Basis of Postharvest Technologies
STUDIES ON THE MECHANISM OF FIRMNESS RETENTION IN HEAT-TREATED APPLES |
| Authors: | J.D. Klein, J. Henzon, P.L. Irwin, S. Lurie, N. Ben-Shalom |
| Abstract:
Prestorage heating (38C for 4 days) of apples leads to enhanced retention of fruit firmness upon removal from storage, compared to unheated fruit, but the mechanism of action is unknown. Cortical tissues of heated fruit had more insoluble and less water soluble pectin than unheated fruit, although the total pectin content was similar in both treatments. During the heat treatment, neutral sugars were lost from the pectic fractions, with no accompanying decrease in galacturonic acid. No effect of heat treatment on degree of methyl esterification was observed in pectic fractions or in critical-dried whole tissues, using colorimetric and NMR techniques, respectively. We suggest that loss of neutral sugar side chains during the heat treatment may have lead to closer packing of the pectin strands and in turn hindered enzymatic cleavage during and after storage. | |
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