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- Author or Editor: İbrahim Kahramanoğlu x
Strawberry fruits are popular among consumers because of their unique flavor and reported health benefits. However, microbial growth and oxidative stress that occur in postharvest storage cause strawberry fruits to have a relatively short postharvest life, which reduces consumer acceptance. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of exogenous melatonin application on the enzymatic activity and postharvest quality of strawberry fruits that are stored at 4 ± 0.5 °C. A total of 288 fruits with four replicates for each of the three treatments (control, 200 μM melatonin, and 500 μM melatonin) were used. Several quality metrics were regularly assessed at 3-day intervals during the 18-day storage trials. The results suggested that the exogenous melatonin application significantly increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes at the physiological level, including catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and peroxidase which led to reductions in weight loss, the decay incidence, and the malondialdehyde level. The use of melatonin successfully delayed changes in the soluble solids concentration, ascorbic acid, titratable acidity, and fruit firmness. The results indicated that applying 500 μM melatonin to strawberries would be a useful strategy for increasing their shelf life.
Little mallow (Malva parviflora L.) has been traditionally used as an alternative food source. To the authors’ knowledge, there is no available published information about the postharvest storability of little mallow. This study was conducted in three steps. It aimed to determine the postharvest storability of little mallow leaves and to improve its storability using different strategies. First, the effects of four different storage conditions on the storability of little mallow leaves were tested to determine the most favorable conditions for further studies: 5 ± 1 °C and 95% relative humidity (RH); 9 ± 1 °C and 95% RH; 13 ± 1 °C and 95% RH; and 24 ± 1 °C and 55% RH as control. Preliminary experiments suggested that the best temperature and RH combination is 9 ± 1 °C and 95% RH. Hence, the effects of hot water dipping (HWD) were tested at three different temperatures (40, 45, and 50 °C) for two different durations (60 and 120 seconds); the results suggested that the 40 °C treatment is the most suitable heat treatment for improving the storability of mallow. The final experiments were conducted with 15 different treatments, including HWD, eco-friendly edible bio-materials, modified atmosphere packaging, and ultraviolet radiation. Results showed that low-density polyethylene (LDPE) (60 × 60 cm; thickness, 50 μ) and polypropylene (PP) (35 × 50 cm; thickness, 35 μ) packaging provide the highest efficacy for preserving overall quality. The edible quality of little mallow can be extended to 15 days with PP and 12 days with LDPE. However, both materials caused an abnormal odor after that time. Further studies involving additional edible coatings are necessary to determine if the storage duration of little mallow leaves could be extended.
The present study was conducted with the aim of increasing storage duration of cucumber fruits by using eco-friendly edible biomaterials and nanotechnology. Hence, the effects of postharvest-applied lemongrass oil (LO) and propolis extract (PEx), alone or in combination with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), on the weight loss, fruit firmness, sensory index, chilling injury (CI), decay incidence (DI), and soluble solid concentration (SSC) of cucumber fruits were tested. Two different doses (0.2% and 0.5%) of both LO and PEx were tested in present study. Application of LO and PEx was performed by dipping the fruits into the solutions at 21 ± 1 °C for 3 minutes; after drying for 30 minutes, fruits were transferred to a cold room and kept at 4.5 ± 0.5 °C and 95% relative humidity (RH). Studies were continued for 24 days, and quality parameters were measured at 4-day intervals. Two-day shelf-life simulation was also applied to fruits after each interval, and the same quality parameters were observed. Results suggest that the combination of MAP bags with LO or PEx treatment provides better conditions for postharvest storage of cucumbers and that storage duration might be extended to 20 days. Fruits treated with LO or PEx and stored in MAP bags maintained weight and SSC, were firmer, showed lower DI, and expressed lower CI (P < 0.05) throughout storage.