Effect of Postharvest UV-C Irradiation on Phenolic Compound Content and Antioxidant Activity of Tomato Fruit During Storage

• Published in: Journal of Integrative Agriculture Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 159 - 165
• Main Authors: LIU, Chang-hong, CAI, Lu-yun, LU, Xian-ying, HAN, Xiao-xu, YING, Tie-jin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Science Press 2012; Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Biosystem Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058,P.R. China; Elsevier
• Subjects: antioxidant activity; phenolic compounds; postharvest UV-C irradiation; storage; tomato; tomato postharvest UV-C irradiation storage antioxidant activity phenolic compounds; 抗氧化活性; 番茄果实; 紫外线照射; 贮藏过程; 辐射; 酚类化合物; 采后; 高效液相色谱法; phenolic compounds; tomato; storage; antioxidant activity; postharvest UV-C irradiation
• ISSN: 2095-3119; 2352-3425
• DOI: 10.1016/S1671-2927(12)60794-9

Mature-green tomato fruit （Solanum lycopersicum cv. Zhenfen 202） were exposed to different UV-C irradiation at 2, 4, 8, and 16 kJ m-2 and then stored under the dark at 14°C and 95% relative humidity （RH） for 35 d. Of these four doses, UV-C irradiation at 4 and 8 kJ m-2 significantly increased total phenolic contents in present tomato fruit by 21.2 and 20.2%, respectively. Furthermore, UV-C irradiation at 4 or 8 kJ m-2 promoted the accumulation of total flavonoids and increased the antioxidant activity. 2 or 16 kJ m-2 UV-C irradiation also enhanced antioxidant activity, but to a lesser extent. Seven phenolic compounds, viz., gallic acid, （＋）-catechin, chlorogenic acid, cafferic acid, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, and quercetin in tomato fruit were identified and quantified by HPLC. Gallic acid was the major phenolic compound in tomato fruit and significantly correlated with antioxidant activity. 4 or 8 kJ m-2 UV-C irradiation significantly increased the contents of gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, and quercetin. The optimum dose of UV-C irradiation in terms of increased phenolic compound content and enhanced Antioxidant activity was determined to be 4 or 8 kJ m-2.