Refining of Eucommia ulmoides Oliver derived wood vinegar for excellent preservation of the typical berries

Wood vinegar was pyrolyzed from Eucommia ulmoides Oliver branches and suffered from the different refinery methods, such as the ultra-low freezing and thawing (WVFT), the charcoal adsorbed (WVCA), the activated carbon adsorbed (WVACA), the atmospheric distillation (WVAD80, WVAD90, WVAD100), and the vacuum distillation (WVVD70). Subsequently, two typical berries (cherry tomatoes and strawberries) were treated with the seven refined wood vinegar (5.0 g/L) to evaluate theirs storage performance. The effectiveness of the various refined wood vinegars of the berries were systematically investigated by the weight loss, decay incidence, firmness, pH, color, total soluble solids and vitamin C content. The results demonstrated that the application of WVFT in refined wood vinegar resulted in the significant pH reduction (3.65-4.21), firmness loss (0.74-3.49 N), effectively delayed the weight loss (5.49%-42.43%) and decay incidence (11.11%-38.89%) of the two berries. Besides, the refined wood vinegar remarkably reduced the loss of vitamin C content (18.18-77.58 100 g/mg) and total soluble solids (5.6-10.07 degrees Brix) of the berries. These results provided the basis for further application of the refined wood vinegar to develop in food preservatives.

Automated summary

Wood vinegar was extracted from Eucommia ulmoides Oliver branches and refined using various methods. The refined wood vinegar was then used to treat cherry tomatoes and strawberries to evaluate their storage performance. The results showed that using ultra-low freezing and thawing method resulted in pH reduction, firmness loss, delayed weight loss and decay incidence of the berries. Additionally, the refined wood vinegar reduced the loss of vitamin C content and total soluble solids of the berries. These findings provide a basis for further development of refined wood vinegar as a food preservative.