Abstract
The objective of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of the post-harvest treatments of abiotic elicitors, that is, calcium chloride (CaCl2) and salicylic acid (SA) on physicochemical and biochemical parameters in relation to activities of antioxidative enzymes in carrot to enhance shelf life. Carrot of variety Punjab Carrot Red was harvested, washed, surface dried and treated with CaCl2 (1, 1.5 and 2%) or SA (1, 1.5 and 2 mM) for 5 min, while distilled water was used as the control. Treated as well as untreated carrots were placed in open trays and stored under refrigerated (5 ± 1 °C, 90% RH) conditions for 63 days. Treatment of carrots with CaCl2 and SA showed a reduction in changes in physiological weight, color, total soluble solids, ascorbic acid, titratable acidity, total phenolics, carotenoids, antioxidant activity and TBA reactive compound as compared to untreated samples. Higher activities of antioxidative enzymes, that is, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), peroxidase (POD), dehydro-ascorbate-reductase (DHAR) and monodehydro-ascorbate-reductase (MDHAR), were found in treated carrots as compared to untreated carrots during the whole storage period. SA treatment exhibited more usefulness in maintaining the quality of carrot than CaCl2 treatment. Among all the treatments, 1.5 mM SA exhibited the highest antioxidative enzyme activities and slowest changes in biochemical quality of carrot during storage. Thus, 1.5 mM SA can be used to extend the shelf life of carrot during refrigerated storage.
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Acknowledgements
Authors are thankful to Dr. Tarsem Singh Dhillon, Department of Vegetable Sciences, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana for providing us carrot crop. The authors also acknowledge the financial support provided by ICAR under All India Coordinated Research project on Postharvest Engineering and Technology, New Delhi, India.
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Devi, J., Bhatia, S. & Alam, M.S. Abiotic Elicitors Influence Antioxidative Enzyme Activities and Shelf Life of Carrot During Storage Under Refrigerated Conditions. J Plant Growth Regul 38, 1529–1544 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-019-09954-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-019-09954-5