Pre-storage melatonin treatment maintains cell membrane integrity, reduces fruit browning and decay incidence in guava (Psidium guajava)

MENAKA  M; RAM  ASREY; VINOD  B R; NIRMAL KUMAR  MEENA; SHRUTI  SETHI; SAJEEL  AHMED

doi:10.56093/ijas.v94i4.141747

Authors

MENAKA M ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
RAM ASREY ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
VINOD B R ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
NIRMAL KUMAR MEENA ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
SHRUTI SETHI ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
SAJEEL AHMED ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India

https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v94i4.141747

Keywords:

Decay incidence, Firmness, Lipoxygenase, Peel discoloration, Phenylalanine ammonia- lyase

Abstract

An experiments were conducted during 2021–22 at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to study the impact of melatonin (MT) on key characteristics of guava (Psidium guajava L. cv. Barafkhana). Guava fruits were treated with different MT concentrations (200, 400, 600 and 800 μM) and stored at 10±1°C with 85–90% RH. The research revealed that treating with 600 μM MT notably decreased polyphenoloxidase activity by 57%, leading to delayed peel browning and also suppressed polygalacturonase (PG) activity by approximately 45% and pectine methylesterase activity by about 73%, resulting in higher firmness (5.33 N). Following a 20-days period of cold storage, significant reductions in electrolyte leakage, hydrogen peroxide accumulation and lipoxygenase activity were observed, thereby preserving cell membrane integrity. Additionally, MT stimulated the antioxidant defense system, boosted proline content accumulation, and enhanced phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity. Together, these effects contributed to enhanced resistance against postharvest fungal decay (8.75%). In conclusion, MT at a concentration of 600 μM proves to be an effective postharvest treatment for maintaining texture, reducing fruit decay and extending the shelf-life of guava during cold storage.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Anjum M A, Akram H, Zaidi M and Ali S. 2020. Effect of gum arabic and Aloe vera gel based edible coatings in combination with plant extracts on postharvest quality and storability of ‘Gola’ guava fruits. Scientia Horticulturae 271: 109506. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2020.109506

Bhan C, Asrey R, Meena N K, Rudra S G, Chawla G, Kumar R and Kumar R. 2022. Guar gum and chitosan-based composite edible coating extends the shelf life and preserves the bioactive compounds in stored Kinnow fruits. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 222: 2922–935. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.10.068

Bhan C, Asrey R, Singh D, Meena N K, Vinod B R and Menaka M. 2023. Bioefficacy of bacteria and yeast bioagents on disease suppression and quality retention of stored Kinnow mandarin fruits. Food Bioscience 53: 102743. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbio.2023.102743

Dhami K S, Asrey R, Vinod B R and Meena N K. 2023. Postharvest methyl jasmonate alleviates chilling injury and maintains quality of ‘kinnow’ (Citrus nobilis Lour × C. deliciosa Tenora) fruits under differential storage temperature. Erwerbs-Obstbau 1–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10341-023-00880-1

Dong J, Kebbeh M, Yan R, Huan C, Jiang T and Zheng X. 2021. Melatonin treatment delays ripening in mangoes associated with maintaining the membrane integrity of fruit exocarp during postharvest. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 169: 22–28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2021.10.038

Fan S, Xiong T, Lei Q, Tan Q, Cai J, Song Z, Yang M, Chen W, Li X and Zhu X. 2022. Melatonin treatment improves postharvest preservation and resistance of guava fruit (Psidium guajava L.). Foods 11(3): 262. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11030262

Gao H, Lu Z, Yang Y, Wang D, Yang T, Cao M and Cao W. 2018. Melatonin treatment reduces chilling injury in peach fruit through its regulation of membrane fatty acid contents and phenolic metabolism. Food Chemistry 245: 659–66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.10.008

Kebbeh M, Dong J X, Chen H U A N, Yan L I U and Zheng X L. 2023. Melatonin treatment alleviates chilling injury in mango fruit ‘Keitt’ by modulating proline metabolism under chilling stress. Journal of Integrative Agriculture 22(3): 935–44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jia.2023.02.008

Liu C, Zheng H, Sheng K, Liu W and Zheng L. 2018. Effects of melatonin treatment on the postharvest quality of strawberry fruit. Postharvest Biology and Technology 139: 47–55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2018.01.016

Liu S, Huang H, Huber D J, Pan Y, Shi X and Zhang Z. 2020. Delay of ripening and softening in ‘Guifei’ mango fruit by postharvest application of melatonin. Postharvest Biology and Technology 163: 111136. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2020.111136

Luo T, Yin F, Liao L, Liu Y, Guan B, Wang M, Lai T, Wu Z and Shuai L. 2021. Postharvest melatonin treatment inhibited longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) pericarp browning by increasing ROS scavenging ability and protecting cytomembrane integrity. Food Science and Nutrition 9(9): 4963–973. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.2448

Ma Q, Lin X, Wei Q, Yang X, Zhang Y N and Chen J. 2021. Melatonin treatment delays postharvest senescence and maintains the organoleptic quality of ‘Newhall’ navel orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] by inhibiting respiration and enhancing antioxidant capacity. Scientia Horticulturae 286: 110236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110236

Mirshekari A, Madani B, Yahia E M, Golding J B and Vand S H. 2020. Postharvest melatonin treatment reduces chilling injury in sapota fruit. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 100(5): 1897–1903. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10198

Njie A, Zhang W E, Dong X, Lu C, Pan X and Liu Q. 2022. Effect of melatonin on fruit quality via decay inhibition and enhancement of antioxidative enzyme activities and genes expression of two mango cultivars during cold storage. Foods 11(20): 3209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11203209

Promyou S, Raruang Y and Chen Z Y. 2023. Melatonin treatment of strawberry fruit during storage extends its post-harvest quality and reduces infection caused by Botrytis cinerea. Foods 12(7): 1445. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12071445

Rastegar S, Khankahdani H H and Rahimzadeh M. 2020. Effects of melatonin treatment on the biochemical changes and antioxidant enzyme activity of mango fruit during storage. Scientia Horticulturae 259: 108835. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2019.108835

Tang Q, Li C, Ge Y, Li X, Cheng Y, Hou J and Li J. 2020. Exogenous application of melatonin maintains storage quality of jujubes by enhancing anti-oxidative ability and suppressing the activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes. LWT 127: 109431. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2020.109431

Wei D, Yang J, Xiang Y, Meng L, Pan Y and Zhang Z. 2022. Attenuation of postharvest browning in rambutan fruit by melatonin is associated with inhibition of phenolics oxidation and reinforcement of antioxidative process. Frontiers in Nutrition 9: 905006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.905006

Zhai R, Liu J, Liu F, Zhao Y, Liu L, Fang C, Wang H, Li X, Wang Z, Ma F and Xu L. 2018. Melatonin limited ethylene production, softening and reduced physiology disorder in pear (Pyrus communis L.) fruit during senescence. Postharvest Biology and Technology 139: 38–46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2018.01.017