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Compositional and enzymatic changes in guava (Psidium guajava L.) fruits during ripening

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Abstract

Changes in chemical composition and hydrolytic enzyme activities in guava fruits cv. Lucknow-49 have been reported at four different stages of maturity, viz., mature green (MG), color turning (CT), ripe (R) and over ripe (OR). Chlorophyll content decreased, while carotenoid content increased with advancement of ripening. Starch content decreased with concomitant increase in alcohol soluble sugars. The cell wall constituents viz., cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin decreased up to R stage, while the pectin content decreased throughout up to OR stage. Among the cell wall hydrolyzing enzymes, polygalacturonase (PG) and cellulase exhibited progressive increase in activity throughout ripening, while pectin methyl esterase (PME) activity increased up to CT stage and then decreased up to OR stage. The maximum increase in the activities of cell wall hydrolysing enzymes was observed between MG and CT stages. The activities of starch hydrolyzing enzymes, α-amylase and β-amylase decreased significantly with advancement of ripening. These changes in the activities of hydrolyzing enzymes could be considered good indicators of ripening in guava.

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Abbreviations

MG :

mature green

CT :

colour turning

R :

ripe

OR :

over ripe

PG :

polygalacturonase

PME :

pectin methyl esterase

Chl :

chlorophyll

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, India

    Nisha Jain, Kamal Dhawan, Sarla P Malhotra, Saleem Siddiqui & Randhir Singh

  2. Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, 125 004, Hisar, India

    Saleem Siddiqui

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  1. Nisha Jain
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  2. Kamal Dhawan
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  3. Sarla P Malhotra
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  4. Saleem Siddiqui
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  5. Randhir Singh
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Correspondence to Kamal Dhawan.

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Jain, N., Dhawan, K., Malhotra, S.P. et al. Compositional and enzymatic changes in guava (Psidium guajava L.) fruits during ripening. Acta Physiol Plant 23, 357–362 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-001-0044-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-001-0044-7

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