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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Crop and Product Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1529127
This article is part of the Research Topic Enhancing Berry Fruit Quality: Unraveling the Influence of Preharvest and Postharvest Factors View all 8 articles

Improvement of antioxidant capacity, aroma quality, and antifungal ability of cherry by phenyllactic acid treatment during low temperature storage

Provisionally accepted
Chaoqi Zhang Chaoqi Zhang 1Yunfan Wang Yunfan Wang 1Mengxin Wang Mengxin Wang 1Yanhui Kong Yanhui Kong 2Xiulian Li Xiulian Li 3Danliangmin Song Danliangmin Song 1Xiangquan Zeng Xiangquan Zeng 4Yanqing Yang Yanqing Yang 1*Xinguang Fan Xinguang Fan 1*Hansheng Gong Hansheng Gong 1*
  • 1 Ludong University, Yantai, Shandong Province, China
  • 2 Yantai Landscape Construction and Maintenance Center, Yantai, China
  • 3 School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong Province, China
  • 4 Department of Food Science, College of Agriculture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is highly valued for its exquisite taste and high nutritional value but is prone to microbial spoilage due to its delicate skin and soft flesh, resulting in economic losses. This research focused on assessing the impact of phenyllactic acid (PLA) on enhancing the storage quality of sweet cherries. Findings demonstrated that 8 mmol•L -1 of PLA significantly suppressed microbial proliferation, slowed down the decline in firmness, minimized weight loss, and reduced spoilage rates. Furthermore, PLA treatment preserved the total phenolic and flavonoid content, thereby boosting the antioxidant capacity of the cherries. GC-MS and GC-IMS analysis revealed that PLA promoted the synthesis of specific flavor compounds (benzyl alcohol, hexanal, 2,6-nonadienal, (E, Z)-, nonanal) and inhibited their degradation at the later period of storage, preserving the aroma quality of the cherries. Therefore, PLA demonstrated significant potential as a natural antifungal agent, offering new insights for improving the quality of fruits and vegetables.

    Keywords: PLA, antioxidant capacity, antifungal ability, cherry, aroma

    Received: 20 Nov 2024; Accepted: 02 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Wang, Wang, Kong, Li, Song, Zeng, Yang, Fan and Gong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yanqing Yang, Ludong University, Yantai, 264025, Shandong Province, China
    Xinguang Fan, Ludong University, Yantai, 264025, Shandong Province, China
    Hansheng Gong, Ludong University, Yantai, 264025, Shandong Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.