Treatments with low and high molecular chitosan delayed nectarine postharvest senescence

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of different molecular weights of chitosan treatment (LM 30?kDa; HM 120?kDa) on fruit senescence related to redox state and respiratory pathway metabolism in postharvest nectarine fruit stored at 25??C for 8?days. The treatments of LM and HM chitosan both delayed senescence, which are due to inhibition of respiration rate, and enhanced the antioxidant system, as evidenced by the improvement of ASA-GSH cycle and total phenolics and flavonoids contents and decrease in H2O2 and MDA accumulation. Meanwhile, fruit treated with HM chitosan manifested better quality and redox state than LM. It is noteworthy that the results showed that HM chitosan notably suppressed the activity of SDH enzyme and increased the total activity of G-6-PDH and 6-PGDH. Accordingly, changed respiratory pathways by HM chitosan coating contributed to senescence retardation and modification of redox status in postharvest nectarine fruit. ? SourceDifferent molecular weights chitosan coatings delay the senescence of postharvest nectarine fruit in relation to changes of redox state and respiratory pathway metabolismWanli Zhang, Handong Zhao, Jing Zhang, Zhongting Sheng, Jiankang Cao & Weibo JiangFood Chemistry, Volume 289, 15 August 2019, Pages 160-168Figure, Graphical abstract