title: Effect of ozone pre-conditioning on quality and antioxidant capacity of papaya fruit during ambient storage.
abstract: The objective of this study was to compare the physico-chemical characteristics and antioxidant activity of ozone-treated papaya fruit and untreated fruit. Freshly harvested papaya fruit were exposed continuously to ozone fumigation (0, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 5ppm) for 96h prior to ambient storage at 25±3°C and 70±5% relative humidity (RH) for up to 14days. The fruit exposed to 2.5ppm ozone had higher levels of total soluble solids (25.0%), ascorbic acid content (12.4%), β-carotene content (19.6%), lycopene content (52.1%), and antioxidant activity (30.9%), and also reduced weight loss (11.5%) at day 10 compared to the control. The sensory attributes of papaya treated with 2.5ppm ozone was superior in sweetness and overall acceptability. These results support the application of ozone as a non-thermal and safe food preservation technique for papaya which can benefit both the producers and consumers.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Excellence for Postharvest Biotechnology (CEPB), School of Biosciences, The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor D.E., Malaysia. Asgar.Ali@nottingham.edu.my
authors.forename: Asgar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Mei Kying
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: Charles F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Forney
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis*; D029441:Carica / Q000737:chemistry*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000032:analysis; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D061353:Food Storage; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077276:Lycopene; D010126:Ozone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis*; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D010936:Plant Extracts; D019207:beta Carotene; D002338:Carotenoids; D010126:Ozone; D000077276:Lycopene
keywords: Ascorbic acid content; Firmness; Physico-chemical; Sensory attributes; β-Carotene content