title: Precooling and ozone treatments affects postharvest quality of black mulberry (Morus nigra) fruits.
abstract: Mulberry (Morus spp.) fruits are delicious and nutritious, but they are highly perishable and have a very short shelf-life for sale in the market. This study investigated the effect and mechanisms of 2ppm ozone and precooling treatments on the postharvest quality of mulberry fruit during refrigerated storage. The results revealed that mulberry fruit subjected to ozone and precooling treatment had higher levels of titratable acidity and total soluble solids content, better retention in firmness and color, and lower decay rate, respiratory intensity, and polyphenol oxidase activity compared to the control. From the analysis of cell ultrastructure and cell wall components of fruit, ozone and precooling treatments also induced shrinkage of the stomata in the epidermis, inhibited bacteria invasion, reduced water transpiration, and delayed the decomposition of the cell walls and the degradation of epidermal tissues.
authors.affiliation: Food Science Institute, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Key Laboratory of Fruits and Vegetables Postharvest and Processing Technology Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310021, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Food Science Institute, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Key Laboratory of Fruits and Vegetables Postharvest and Processing Technology Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310021, China. Electronic address: spsghy@163.com.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Food Science Institute, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Key Laboratory of Fruits and Vegetables Postharvest and Processing Technology Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310021, China.
authors.forename: Hangjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Food Science Institute, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Key Laboratory of Fruits and Vegetables Postharvest and Processing Technology Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310021, China.
authors.forename: Xiangjun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Food Science Institute, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Key Laboratory of Fruits and Vegetables Postharvest and Processing Technology Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310021, China.
authors.forename: Weijie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D003080:Cold Temperature; D003116:Color; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D031625:Morus / Q000737:chemistry*; D010126:Ozone; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D010126:Ozone
keywords: Mulberry; Ozone; Postharvest quality; Precooling; Ultrastructure