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Novel Role of Ethanol in Delaying Postharvest Physiological Deterioration and Keeping Quality in Cassava

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Abstract

Massive economic losses and the decrease in quality of cassava are caused by postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD). However, an effective solution remains limited. In this study, the role of ethanol in the PPD of cassava was investigated and highlighted. Exogenous ethanol delayed PPD and reduced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, while increased the underlying activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging. Moreover, exogenous ethanol increased the endogenous levels of ethylene and melatonin, all of which are negative regulators of PPD. Notably, this study found that exogenous ethanol reduced the degradation of starch, but enhanced ascorbic acid content and carotenoid content. In summary, these results revealed the novel role of ethanol in delaying PPD and improving the quality of cassava tubes without ethanol residue, suggesting an effective and promising way in cassava.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Scientific Research Project of Higher Education in Hainan Education Department (No. Hnky2018-7) to Guoyin Liu, the startup funding, and the scientific research foundation of the Hainan University (No. kyqd1531) to Haitao Shi, and the crop science postgraduate innovation project of Hainan university tropical agriculture and forestry college (No.ZWCX2018017) to Bing Li.

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  1. Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresources, College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China

    Guoyin Liu, Bing Li, Chaozu He & Haitao Shi

  2. College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China

    Guoyin Liu, Yuqi Wang & Bo Wei

  3. College of Applied Science and Technology, Hainan University, Danzhou, 571737, China

    Debing Liu

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  1. Guoyin Liu
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  2. Bing Li
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  5. Chaozu He
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  7. Haitao Shi
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Liu, G., Li, B., Wang, Y. et al. Novel Role of Ethanol in Delaying Postharvest Physiological Deterioration and Keeping Quality in Cassava. Food Bioprocess Technol 12, 1756–1765 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-019-02330-x

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