ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Pretreatment of exogenous salicylic acid (SA) could change the phytochemical reactions and maintain the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables and the treated fruits and vegetabeles have a higher ability to withstand oxidation injuries. Carotenoid pigment, antioxidant activity (using FRAP assay), sugar (fructose, glucose, sucrose), total soluble solids, soluble protein content and weight loss in the pulp during postharvest storage (105 d) of the pretreated ‘Cara cara’ navel orange (Citrus sinenisis L. Osbeck) with SA were analyzed. SA-pretreatment significantly inhibited weight loss and increased the content of carotenoids (lycopene and α-carotene), total soluble solids, soluble protein, sugar and antioxidant activity. Furthermore, the values of nutritional compounds were the highest in the fruit pretreated with SA before the harvest and antioxidant activity in the pulp increased as much as 1.31 times when compared with the control. These results indicated that SA-pretreatment (especially pre-harvest-treatment) could maintain phytochemical reactions balance and nutritional value, suggested that pre-harvest-treatment with SA a promising novel technology, which might be a substitute for the perplexing programme control of post-harvest nutrition in fruit.
