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Changes in Sugar Metabolism and Fruit Quality of Different Pear Cultivars During Cold Storage

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Abstract

This study evaluated the changes in sugar metabolism and fruit quality of different pear cultivars during cold storage using seven major commercial pear cultivars belonging to different Pyrus species, such as P. bretschneideri Rehd. (“Huangguan,” “Yali”), P. pyrifolia Nakai. (“Wonhwang,” “Hosui”), P. ussuriensis Maxim. (“Jingbai,” “Nanguo”), and P. communis L. (“Bartlett”). The firmness, respiration rate, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, sugar content, and enzyme activity of the seven pear cultivars were investigated. SPSS was used for analyzing the significance of different indexes. Results showed that fructose was the dominant sugar, accounting for > 60% of total sugars, followed by glucose and sucrose. The respiration peak of almost all cultivars appeared within 60 days. The levels of fructose, glucose, sucrose, and total soluble solids increased within 90 days and then generally decreased. Acid invertase showed the highest activity among all pear cultivars, followed by neutral invertase, sucrose synthetase, and sucrose phosphate synthetase during storage.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a key project in the National Science and Technology Pillar Program during the 11th 5-year plan period (No. 2006BAD22B01), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31470091), and Innovation Team of Tianjin Forestry and Pomology Research System (No. ITTFPRS2018009). We are very grateful to Dr. Shijie Yan (Tianjin Agricultural University) for providing the cold room.

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  1. Yanan Zhao and Jinhui Geng made the same contribution to the paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300354, China

    Yanan Zhao, Jinhui Geng, Ying Zhang, Kyongil Nam, Zhaohui Xue & Xiaohong Kou

  2. College of Food Technology, Han Dok Su Pyongyang Light Industry University, Pyongyang, 999093, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

    Kyongil Nam

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  1. Yanan Zhao
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  2. Jinhui Geng
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  3. Ying Zhang
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  4. Kyongil Nam
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  5. Zhaohui Xue
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  6. Xiaohong Kou
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Correspondence to Zhaohui Xue or Xiaohong Kou.

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Zhao, Y., Geng, J., Zhang, Y. et al. Changes in Sugar Metabolism and Fruit Quality of Different Pear Cultivars During Cold Storage. Trans. Tianjin Univ. 25, 389–399 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-018-0184-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-018-0184-0

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