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132 Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.9 (3&4), July-October 2011

www.world-food.netJournal of Food, Agriculture & Environment Vol.9 (3&4): - . 2011

WFLPublisherScience and Technology

Meri-Rastilantie 3 B, FI-00980

Helsinki, Finland

e-mail: info@world-food.net

Storage temperature and quality of red mombin fruits (Spondias purpurea L.)

Douglas Seijum Kohatsu 1*, Valdir Zucareli 1, Wilian Polaco Brambilla 2, Regina Marta Evangelista 3,

Elizabeth Orika Ono 4 and Tiago Roque Benetoli da Silva 11 UEM/CCA/DCA Agronomia Umuarama, PR, Brazil. 2Departamento de Botnica, Instituto de Biocincias, Unesp, Botucatu,SP,

Brazil. 3 Departamento de Gesto e Tecnologia Agroindustrial da Faculdade de Cincias Agronmicas da Universidade

Estadual Paulista, UNESP. 4 Departamento de Botnica, Instituto de Biocincias, Unesp, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. *e-mail:

dskohatsu2@uem.br

Received 18 January 2011, accepted 22 March 2011.

AbstractThe aim was to study the effect of different storage temperatures on quality of red mombin fruit. The red mombin fruits were obtained from the

Company CEAGESP/Sao Paulo/Brazil and transported in cool boxes to the laboratory, where they were selected on the base of appearance, maturity

lack of physical damage, sanitized in 50 ppm chlorine-free solution and packaged in polystyrene trays wrapped with film of polyvinyl chloride

(PVC). The experiment was a completely randomized design with three temperatures (4, 8 and 25C) and 5 time intervals (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 days after

the experiment installation). In each survey firmness, titratable acidity, soluble solids, ascorbic acid content, the skin color and also the release of CO2

by the fruit over time were evaluated. It was observed that low temperatures prolong the fruits shelf life and the storage temperature influences the

characteristics, the temperature of 8C was most suitable for the storage of red mombin fruits. Besides, the fruit color was a good indicator of changesin the pulp during storage.

Key words: Postharvest, tropical fruits, Anacardiaceae.

Introduction

Red mombin (Spondias purpurea L.) is a tree of Anacardiaceae

family originating in Central America and widespread in all

countries of tropical America 13. The fruits are dark red when ripe,

with sweet and acidulous flesh and pleasant flavor 8, and have a

high calorific value (74 kcal/100 g), mainly due to the high

concentration of total carbohydrates (19.1%). According Orwa et

al. 10, glucose, fructose and sucrose together account for 65% of

the soluble matter. Recently, red mombin fruit has attracted the

attention of the processing industries due to industrialization and

export potential. For being a climacteric fruit, accelerated

metabolism and quick senescence prevent the storage for extended

periods 12.

According Albuquerque et al. 1, tropical fruits may have

prolonged shelf life by reducing respiration rate and ethylene

production, but storage techniques would be essential in this

process. The cold storage has been the most widely used method

for reducing postharvest losses. Ideal storage temperature which

potentially prolongs the postharvest without causing

physiological damage in fruits is quite variable, particularly intropical fruits. Therefore, the aim of the study was to test the

effect of different storage temperatures on red mombin fruit quality.

Materials and Methods

Red mombin fruits were obtained from the CEAGESP/So Paulo/

Brazil, transported in cool boxes to the Fruit and Vegetable

Postharvest Laboratory of the Universidade Estadual Paulista/

Botucatu-SP, selected on the base of appearance, maturity and

lack of physical damage and sanitized with chlorine-free solution

(50 ppm). They were packed in polystyrene trays wrapped with

polyvinyl chloride film (PVC). The treatments were as follows: T1

refrigerated 4C, T2 refrigerated 8C and T3 refrigerated 25C. The

experimental design was completely randomized factorial with three

temperature treatments (4, 8 and 25C) and 5 storage periods (0, 2,

4, 6 and 8 days after the experiment started). The following

parameters were evaluated: respiration rate, firmness, soluble

solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content and skin color. The

characterization of respiration curve was determined by the release

of CO2according Bleinroth et al. 4.

Fruit firmness was determined by STEVENS LFRA texture

analyser with penetration of 10 mm and a speed of 2.0 mm s -1, and

the results were expressed in gram force (g f).

Titratable acidity and soluble solids (SS) were determined by

titration and refractometry (refractometer ABB/Atago-N1 type) at

25C 2 and results were expressed as g of acid per 100 g of pulp

and Brix, respectively. The ascorbic acid content was determined

with 10 g of pulp crushed and dissolved in 50 ml of 1% oxalic acid.

After homogenization samples were titrated with 2,6-

dichlorophenol indophenol (DCFI) 3. The results were expressed

as mg ascorbic acid per 100 ml of sample.The skin color was measured with colorimeter Konica Minolta

(Chroma Meter 400) and parameters were L* and the Hue angle14.

Statistical analysis was performed by variance model analysis,

through Sisvar program, using the 5% significance level.

Results and Discussion

The fruits did not show climacteric pattern (Fig. 1), possibly

because at the time of acquisition the fruits were at the advanced

stage of maturity and had already reached the highest respiratory

rate. High respiratory activity on the first day is probably the

result of transport, which may have increased fruit respiration.

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Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.9 (3&4), July-October 2011 13

Durigan et al. 7 explained that mechanical damage is among causes

of postharvest losses. Such injuries cause irreparable damage

to the products, reducing shelf life as a result of increase in

respiratory activity and chemical changes.

The initial respiratory activity in red mombin fruits was about

60 ml CO2kg-1 h-1, with a tendency to maintain high respiration in

fruits stored at 25C and low activity in cold-stored fruits during

the study. It is known that the decrease in temperature is closely

correlated to respiratory rate reduction, however, fruits stored at

4C had higher respiration rate compared to 8C throughout thestorage period. Possibly, metabolism was accelerated to maintain

cellular integrity 5. These results are in agreement with Sampaio et

al. 12 that senescence occurred slowly in red mombin fruits kept at

8C. The respiratory rate increased during storade at 25C with a

rate of approximately 90 ml CO2kg-1 h-1 at the end of the experiment.

This may be related to fruit respiration and the incidence of

microorganisms on the last day evaluation.

From the fourth day of storage firmness of the fruit was reduced

regardless of storage temperature (Table 1). However, fruit stored

at 25C had lower firmness and differed significantly in the last

day of analysis. Increasing temperature is associated with

increased enzymes, such as cellulase and polygalacturonase,

associated with the degradation of carbohydrates leading to fruitsoftening 5.

There was no significant difference in the titratable acidity

between treatments (Table 1). However, there were differences

between T1 and T2, with slight increase during storage period

until the fourth day of analysis, followed by reduction to the last

day. The increase after several days of storage is due to the

synthesis of organics acids after harvest.

However, the decrease of organic acids over

time is a normal process, since these are

rapidly consumed as substrate in the

respiratory process. The low temperature may

be also responsible for the slow reduction of

these compounds. Martins et al. 9 alsoreported a reduction of acidity in red mombin

fruit after 5 days of storage at temperature

below 8C.

The organic acids content was not

decreased at 25C as expected, despite the

high respiratory activity. Sampaio et al. 12also

found maintenance of acidity in red mombin

fruits of different maturation stages stored at

282C. The maintenance of acidity, despite

the consumption of organic acids in the

respiratory process, may be associated with the rapid decay of

fruit due to the microorganism incidence that may have led to

fermentation and hence acids formation by sugar consumption.

This is evidenced by the decrease of soluble solids observed in

the same treatment (Table 1).

There was a tendency to increase the soluble solids in fruits

stored at 4C and 8C. The reduction in SS observed at 8C on the

eighth daycan beassociated with the start of sugar consumption

in the respiratory process.

The accelerated ripening brought about by higher storage

temperature is clearly observed at 25C, where the fruit reached a

high soluble solid concentration on the second day of storage.

The values of SS in fruits stored at 4C and 8C were the result of

respiration inhibition in response to low temperature (Fig. 1).

The SS value for this experiment ranged from 14.7to 17.0

Brix during storage. The sharp reduction to 12.3 Brix in fruits

stored at 25C should not be dismissed as normal physiological

process of ripening, but attributed to the microorganisms growth,

as previously. Sampaio et al. 11 observed an increase of 7.7 Brix to

15.7 Brix, and this difference is probably due to maturity stage

when acquired.

There was no reduction in ascorbic acid content in fruits at low

temperature from first to last day of storage (Table 1). This resultshowed the importance of storage temperature not just in sensory

quality but also nutritional quality.Storage at 25C had a negative

influence on ascorbic acid content, promoting the degradation,

the contents differed significantly from the fourth day of

evaluation. Ascorbic acid is an easily degradable vitamin, and

high temperature is a factor that most influences the loss of this

compound.

At 25C the ascorbic acid content was reduced from 40.4 to 24.5

mg/100 ml during the storage period, a decrease was approximately

40%. However, it is important to emphasize the nutritional potential

of red mombin fruit for this vitamin, the result is close to the value

of 62.5 mg/100 ml in Pra, the most consumed orange in Brazil6.

The fruit color was influenced by temperature storage, where25C appeared dark from the sixth day with lower values of L*

parameter, differentiating itself from other treatments on this day

evaluation. This temperature is close to ideal for activity of

polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme responsible for browning. The

browning from the last day at 4C would be a probable cold damage

(Table 2). At the same species, Martins et al. 9 observed cold

0

10

20

3040

50

60

70

8090

100

CO

2(mlkg-1h

-1)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Storage time (days)

4C 8C 25C

Figure 1.CO2 release (ml CO2 kg-1

h-1

) in red mombin fruits stored underdifferent temperatures for 8 days.

Storage time (days)

Parameters Treatments 0 2 4 6 8

T1 (4C) 1.85 ABa 1.88 ABa 2.01 Aa 1.86 ABa 1.73 Ba

T2 (8C) 1.85 ABa 1.94 Aa 1.98 Aa 1.86 ABa 1.71 BaTitratable acidity

T3 (25C) 1.85 Aa 1.94 Aa 1.85 Aa 1.92 Aa 1.83 Aa

T1 (4C) 14.7 Aa 15.0 Ab 16.0 Aa 16.3 Aa 16.7 Aa

T2 (8C) 14.7 Ba 15.1 ABb 15.7 ABa 17.0 Aa 16.0 ABaSoluble solids

T3 (25C) 14.7 Ba 17.0 Aa 15.3 ABa 16.3 ABa 12.3 Cb

T1 (4C) 50.0 Aa 42.2 Aa 24.7 Bab 21.2 Ba 22.8 Ba

T2 (8C) 50.0 Aa 42.3A a 31.1 Ba 22.1 Ba 19.4 BaFirmness

T3 (25C) 50.0 Aa 40.4 Aa 17.9 Bb 17.5 Ba 11.9 Bb

T1 (4C) 40.4 Aa 35.9 Aa 40.4 Aa 35.7 Aa 35.3 Aa

T2 (8C) 40.4 Aa 38.9 Aa 36.1 Aa 34.4 Aa 35.7 AaAscorbic acid

T3 (25C) 40.4 Aa 39.9 Aa 29.2 Bb 25.5 Bb 24.5 Bb

Table 1. Means of titratable acidity (g/100 g), soluble solids ( Brix), firmness

(gf) and ascorbic acid (mg/100 ml) in red mombin fruits stored under different

temperatures for 8 days.

Means followed by same letters in the vertical (lower case) and horizontal (upper case) do not differ by Tukeys test at 5% probability.

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134 Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.9 (3&4), July-October 2011

damage at 5C. Thecold storage symptoms of red mombin fruit

are the formation of small dark spots, as observed on color analysis.

Fruit stored at 8C did not differ significantly between days of

analysis, the value of L* parameter was higher than in the other

treatments and there was no browning until the last day.

The Hue angle was between 0 and 90, thus between the color

red and yellow, respectively. Therefore, the closer the value to 0

is the more advanced stage of ripening in fruits stored at 25C

(Table 2). The reddish color is probably due to the chlorophyll

degradation, thus giving rise the other pigments already

synthesized. The maintenance of yellow color was observed infruits stored at 8C, ideal temperature for ripening inhibition.

According to Martins et al. 9, the limit temperature for storing

red mombin fruit without chilling is 9.5C, but in this experiment

the temperature of 8C was enough to hold the fruit with no

change in quality.

Conclusions

The temperature of 8C is ideal for storing red mombin fruits,

these can be stored under home refrigeration without changes in

postharvest quality.

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armazenada em atmosfera modificada. Tecnologia e Cincia

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em: http://www.agricultura.gov.br4Bleinroth, E. W., Zuchini, A. G. and Pompeo, R. M. 1976. Determinao

das caractersticas e mecnicas de variedades de abacate e sua

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Storage time (days)

Color parameters Treatments 0 2 4 6 8

T1 (4C) 57.65 Aba 54.96 BCa 62.92 Aa 56.68 BCa 51.41 Cab

T2 (8C) 57.65 Aa 57.97 Aa 60.48 Aa 57.22 Aa 55.98 AaL*

T3 (25C) 57.65 Aa 55.74 Aa 57.10 Ab 45.35 Bb 47.69 Bb

T1 (4C) 68.29 ABa 70.78 ABa 76.84 Aa 72.87 ABa 65.47 Bb

T2 (8C) 68.29 Aa 68.30 Aa 74.18 Aa 76.00 Aa 73.18 AaHue

T3 (25C) 68.29 Aa 64.52 Aa 67.03 Aa 61.47 Ab 66.08 Ab

Table 2. Means of color parameters of the system CIELAB (L*) and Hue values in red

mombin fruits stored at different temperatures for 8 days.

L* (0: black - 100: White) and Hue angle (0- red; 90- yellow; 180- green and 270- blue).

Means followed by same letters in the vertical (lower case) and horizontal (upper case) do not differ by Tukey test at 5% probability.

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version 4.0. 2009. Disponvel em: http://www.worldagroforestry.org/

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Postharvest respiratory activity and changes in some chemical

constituents during maturation of yellow mombin (Spondias mombin)

fruit. Cincia e Tecnologia de Alimentos 27(3):511-515.12Sampaio, S. A., Bora, P. S. and Holschuh, H. J. 2008. Postharvest

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Spondias purpurea exudate polysaccharide as affinity matrix for the

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