Combination of calcium lactate impregnation with UV-C irradiation maintains quality and improves antioxidant capacity of fresh-cut kiwifruit slices

Xiaomin Hu; Yi Chen; Xinye Wu; Wenxin Liu; Xianyu Jing; Yaowen Liu; Jing Yan; Shuxiang Liu; Wen Qin

doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100329

Combination of calcium lactate impregnation with UV-C irradiation maintains quality and improves antioxidant capacity of fresh-cut kiwifruit slices

Food Chem X. 2022 May 13:14:100329. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100329. eCollection 2022 Jun 30.

Authors

Xiaomin Hu¹, Yi Chen¹, Xinye Wu¹, Wenxin Liu¹, Xianyu Jing¹, Yaowen Liu¹, Jing Yan^{1

2}, Shuxiang Liu^{1

2}, Wen Qin^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, PR China.
² Institute of Food Processing and Safety, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, PR China.

Abstract

This study investigated the combined effects of calcium lactate (CA-L, 3 g L^-1) and shortwave ultraviolet (UV-C, 4.0 kJ m^-2) irradiation on quality attributes and antioxidant defense capacity of fresh-cut kiwifruits at refrigerated storage for 7 d. The results indicated that CA-L and UV-C joint treatment, compared to either treatment alone, alleviated microbial load, showed higher quality on ascorbic acid (AsA), green color, total chlorophyll, flesh hardness, total sugar, total acid and malonaldehyde (MDA) content. Besides, it inhibited $O_{2}^{\cdot -}$ and •OH generation, induced H₂O₂ production, improved the activity of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT and APX), activated critical enzymes (PAL, C4H and 4CL) in phenylpropanoid metabolism pathway and further enhanced total phenolic and proanthocyanidin content. Above results demonstrated that UV-C together with CA-L treatment could synergistically maintain overall quality and improve antioxidant capacity of kiwifruit slices. Therefore, the combination of CA-L and UV-C treatment showed a potential practical application in fresh-cut kiwifruits.

Keywords: 4-coumarate coenzyme A ligase, 4CL; Antioxidant defense capacity; Antioxidant enzymes; Ascorbate peroxidase, APX; Ascorbic acid, AsA; Calcium lactate, CA-L; Catalase, CAT; Cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, C4H; Correlation analysis; Ferric reducing ability of plasma, FRAP; Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables; Malonaldehyde, MDA; Phenolic; Phenylalanine ammonium lyase, PAL; Reactive oxygen species, ROS; Shortwave ultraviolet, UV-C; Superoxide dismutase, SOD.