Citric acid, applied to peach in postharvest, reduces postharvest decay and effectively maintains organoleptic and nutritional quality of the fruit

Peaches are easily perishable fruit, and their quality is quickly lost after harvest. In this?study, ?Hujingmilu? peach (Prunus persica L.) fruit was treated with citric acid (CA) and?stored at 20?C for 15 days. Fruit decay and quality were evaluated during the storage?period. Compared with the control, CA treatment did not inhibit climacteric ethylene?release, but CA was significantly effective at maintaining firmness, inhibiting decay,?and preventing a decrease in titration acid (TA). CA treatment inhibited the increase?in total soluble solids (TSS), sucrose, and fructose in the first week after fruit harvest,?but then their content was significantly higher in CA-treated fruits than that in the?control group. The decrease in malic acid and citric acid was significantly prevented?by CA treatment. During storage, the concentrations of C6 volatile compounds decreased rapidly whereas lactones sharply increased, and the concentrations of ?-decalactone, ?-decalactone, and ?-dodecalactone were found to be significantly high in?CA fruits compared with the control after the eighth day of storage (p < .05). Similarly,?higher contents of chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, catechin, and L-epicatechin?were maintained in fruits treated with CA during the same storage period (p < .05).Our findings suggest that treatment with 10 g/L citric acid can reduce postharvest?decay and effectively maintain the texture, flavor, and nutrition quality of peach fruit.Figure?-?Effects of different treatments on the decay incidence of ?Hujingmilu? peach fruit during postharvest ripening at 20?C. Error bars are the ?SE?of the means of three biological replicates. LSD, least significant difference SourceCitric acid treatment reduces decay and maintains the?postharvest quality of peach (Prunus persica L.) fruitCan Yang, Tao Chen, Borui Shen, Shuxia Sun, Haiyan Song, Dong Chen &?Wanpeng XiFood Sci Nutr. 2019;00:1?9DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.1219https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fsn3.1219