Changes in Biochemical Characteristics and Activities of Ripening Associated Enzymes in Mango Fruit during the Storage at Different Temperatures

As a part of the study to explore the possible strategy for enhancing the shelf life of mango fruits, we investigated the changes in biochemical parameters and activities of ripening associated enzymes of Ashwina hybrid mangoes at 4-day regular intervals during storage at -10 degrees C, 4 degrees C, and 30 +/- 1 degrees C. Titratable acidity, vitamin C, starch content, and reducing sugar were higher at unripe state and gradually decreased with the increasing of storage time at all storage temperatures while phenol content, total soluble solid, total sugar, and nonreducing sugar contents gradually increased. The activities of amylase, alpha-mannosidase, alpha-glucosidase, and invertase increased sharply within first few days and decreased significantly in the later stage of ripening at 30 +/- 1 degrees C. Meanwhile polyphenol oxidase, beta-galactosidase, and beta-hexosaminidase predominantly increased significantly with the increasing days of storage till later stage of ripening. At -10 Cand 4 degrees C, the enzymes as well as carbohydrate contents of storage mango changed slightly up to 4 days and thereafter the enzyme became fully dormant. The results indicated that increase in storage temperature and time correlated with changes in biochemical parameters and activities of glycosidases suggested the suppression of beta-galactosidase and beta-hexosaminidase might enhance the shelf life of mango fruits.