Carmona L, Alquézar B, Diretto G, Sevi F, Malara T, Lafuente MT, Peña L. Curing and low-temperature combined post-harvest storage enhances anthocyanin biosynthesis in blood oranges.
Food Chem 2020;
342:128334. [PMID:
33077281 DOI:
10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.128334]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Anthocyanins are pigments present in blood oranges which can be enriched by post-harvest cold storage. Additionally, citrus fruits contain appreciable levels of other flavonoids, whose content increases under post-harvest heat treatments. Here, we investigated the effects of curing (37 °C for 3 days) and storage at low-temperature (9 °C) during 15, 30 and 45 days on accumulation of anthocyanins and other flavonoids in Moro and Sanguinelli Polidori blood oranges (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck). Cured fruits reached up to 191.4 ± 1.4 mg/L of anthocyanins in their juice after cold storage and a 3-fold enrichment of other flavonoids such as flavones and flavanones, compared to 85.7 ± 3.3 mg/L anthocyanins from fruits with cold storage alone. Concomitantly, qPCR analysis showed that curing enhanced upregulation of the main structural and transcription factor genes regulating the flavonoid pathway. GC-MS analysis showed that no unpleasant compounds were generated in the cured plus cold-stored juice volatilome.
Collapse