December 02, 2016 | Postharvest Biology and Technology |
Conducted by Hainan University, China, this study investigates chilling injury (CI) in papaya fruit (Carica papaya L.) during cold storage, focusing on the relationship between CI and energy metabolism. Papaya, a tropical fruit, is highly susceptible to CI, which affects its quality and marketability.
The research assessed the CI index, energy levels, and activity of energy metabolism-related enzymes in papaya fruit stored at various temperatures (16, 11, 6, and 1 °C). Results indicated that papaya stored at 16 °C showed no CI symptoms, whereas fruit stored at lower temperatures (11 and 6 °C) exhibited typical CI symptoms such as skin pitting and flesh water soaking. However, papaya stored at 1 °C displayed minimal CI symptoms, except for slight manifestations towards the end of storage.
Interestingly, papaya fruit stored at 1 °C demonstrated higher levels of ATP, ADP, and total AXP content, along with increased activity of energy metabolism-related enzymes (H+-ATPase, Ca2+-ATPase, succinic dehydrogenase, and cytochrome c oxidase) compared to fruit stored at 11 and 6 °C. These findings suggest that maintaining higher energy status during cold storage may alleviate CI in papaya fruit.