Effects of short-term anoxic treatment on antioxidant ability and membrane integrity of postharvest kiwifruit during storage

Kiwifruits were exposed to pure N-2 gas for 6 h, then stored at 1 +/- 1 degrees C and 95-100% relative humidity for 35 days and finally held for 3 days at 20 degrees C. Fruit firmness, membrane permeability, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and H2O2 contents, superoxide anion (O-2(-)) production rate and activities of lipoxygenase (LOX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were measured. Short-term N-2 treatment maintained a high level of firmness within 14 days at low temperature and reduced the decrease in the firmness during shelf-life. Furthermore, the treatment reduced the increases in membrane permeability and lipid peroxidation, delayed the increases in both O-2(-) production rate and H2O2 content, increased activities of SOD and POD but reduced LOX activity throughout storage period. These data indicate that the delay in the firmness of kiwifruit by the short-term N-2 treatment could be due to reduced lipid peroxidation, enhanced antioxidant ability and membrane integrity maintenance. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.