Soheila Mohammadrezakhani; Zahra Pakkish
Abstract
Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is known for its social, environmental, and economic importance by many people in tropical and subtropical regions. Dates are an essential agricultural product in Iran and sometimes a staple food because of their high sugar content, vitamins, minerals, phenolic compounds, ...
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Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is known for its social, environmental, and economic importance by many people in tropical and subtropical regions. Dates are an essential agricultural product in Iran and sometimes a staple food because of their high sugar content, vitamins, minerals, phenolic compounds, and antioxidants. This research aimed to explore the changes that occur in chemical compounds at different stages of fruit ripening. Five palm cultivars were comparable with each other in this regard. The fruits were harvested at various ripening stages (Hobabok, Kimri, Khalal, Rutab, and Tamar) from five date varieties, i.e., ‘Khenizi,’ ‘Mazafati,’ ‘Kaloteh,’ ‘Shahani,’ and ‘Mordasang.’ We measured phenolic compounds, anthocyanin, tannin, moisture, and total soluble solids (TSS) in the fruits at their different ripening stages. Average comparisons showed that the TSS content, anthocyanin, and phenol compounds increased during ripening. In contrast, antioxidant capacity, tannins, flavonoids, and moisture content decreased. Chemical compounds in the cultivars were different from one another at ripening. Thus, harvesting should take place according to the harvest purpose in each cultivar.
Zahra Sadat Amiri; Zahra Pakkish; Fatemeh Nasibi
Abstract
In this study, we evaluated the effects of selenium nanoparticles on chilling injury and improving the shelf life of Valencia orange (Citrus sinensis) fruit. Treatments included 0.5 and 1 mg L-1 selenium nanoparticles, with three replicates per treatment and six replicates in total. Statistical analyses ...
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In this study, we evaluated the effects of selenium nanoparticles on chilling injury and improving the shelf life of Valencia orange (Citrus sinensis) fruit. Treatments included 0.5 and 1 mg L-1 selenium nanoparticles, with three replicates per treatment and six replicates in total. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS, with data analyzed by one-way ANOVA and mean separations by Duncan’s new multiplerange test. Results showed that samples treated with selenium at 0.5 and 1 mg L-1 significantly decreased lipid peroxidation (55 and 62%, respectively) compared to control samples. Selenium treatments also in creased the activity of antioxidant enzymes, including CAT (twice and four times), peroxidase (2.5 and 4 times), APX (about 0.5 and 2.5 times), and SOD (by 4 and 6 times), with consistent results in DPPH radical scavenging (by 2.5 and 3.5 times) in the orange fruits. Selenium at both concentrations effectively reduced the incidence of chilling injury in Valencia orange fruits during six months of storage at 3 °C. Chilling injury was best reduced at 1 mg L-1. This study proved that selenium can enhance orange fruit quality and increase its tolerance to cold storage conditions, potentially leading to selenium-enriched fruits with health benefits for consumption.
