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Sweet cherry softening accompanied with moisture migration and loss during low‐temperature storage
Author(s) -
Zhu Danshi,
Liang Jieyu,
Liu He,
Cao Xuehui,
Ge Yonghong,
Li Jianrong
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.8843
Subject(s) - softening , postharvest , prunus , moisture , water content , flesh , free water , horticulture , chemistry , bound water , materials science , food science , composite material , biology , environmental science , environmental engineering , geotechnical engineering , engineering , organic chemistry , molecule
BACKGROUND Hardness is one of the important qualities influencing consumer appeal and marketing of fresh sweet cherry ( Prunus avium L.). Moisture loss is one of the main causative factors of cherry softening. In this work, moisture loss and softening process of sweet cherry during postharvest storage at 0 and 4 °C were studied. In addition, low‐field 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (LF‐NMR) was used to analyze water distribution and migration in sweet cherry during storage at 4 °C. RESULTS Moisture content correlated significantly ( p < 0.01 ) with both skin and flesh hardness of cherry fruit at the two storage temperatures. According to the transverse relaxation curve, relaxation time, as T 21 (0.01–10 ms), T 22 (10–150 ms), and T 23 (150–1000 ms) were ascribed to cell wall protons, cytoplasmic water, and vacuolar water respectively. Contents of cytoplasmic ( p < 0.05 ) and vacuolar water ( p < 0.01 ) changed significantly with storage time. Magnetic resonance imaging results illustrated that water distributes uniformly in fresh tissue. With prolonged storage time, free water content increased gradually, and then internal damage occurred. CONCLUSION Sweet cherry softening closely correlated with moisture loss during low‐temperature storage. LF‐NMR is a useful technique to investigate moisture migration of fruits and vegetables. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry