Farahnaz Fattahi; Fardin Ghanbari; Mehdi Saidi
Abstract
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) belongs to the Malvaceae family and is sensitive to chilling injury. To evaluate the effect of amino acids on preventing okra pods from chilling injury and maintaining their quality during storage, an experiment was performed to evaluate the possible role of amino acids ...
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Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) belongs to the Malvaceae family and is sensitive to chilling injury. To evaluate the effect of amino acids on preventing okra pods from chilling injury and maintaining their quality during storage, an experiment was performed to evaluate the possible role of amino acids in maintaining okra quality during cold storage. In this regard, okra pods were dipped for 10 min in distilled water (as control) and four solutions containing 2mM arginine, asparagine, or glycine individually as well as a combination of the aforementioned amino acids. The samples were then stored at 4°C for 14 days. Results showed that glycine and asparagine individually reduced the rate of pods’ weight loss by as much as 43% and 37%, respectively. Moreover, pretreatment of okra with amino acids, particularly glycine, remarkably diminished chilling disorders because of their roles in inducing antioxidant activity and declining lipid peroxidation in the pods. Results also revealed that pretreatment of okra with amino acids significantly mitigated polyphenol oxidase activity, and this could delay the appearance of pods’ browning lesions during cold storage. In conclusion, the results suggest that pretreatment of okra pods with amino acids, especially glycine, could reduce biochemical changes that occurred in pods due to chilling in cold storage.
Seyed Hossein Mirdehghan; Zahra Aghamolaei
Abstract
Two experiments were designed to evaluate the addition of essential oils to preservative solution and subsequent effects on postharvest quality and vase life of Gladiolus ‘Sorati’ cut flowers. In first experiment, the solutions of savory (Satureja hortensis.), ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) ...
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Two experiments were designed to evaluate the addition of essential oils to preservative solution and subsequent effects on postharvest quality and vase life of Gladiolus ‘Sorati’ cut flowers. In first experiment, the solutions of savory (Satureja hortensis.), ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) were applied at the concentrations of 2, 4, and 6 (mg L−1), distilled water + 2% sucrose were considered as control treatment. In second experiment, the cut flowers pulsed with CaCl2 and AgNO3 for 1 h and then transferred to preservative solution contain 2 mg L-1 of savory, ajowan, thyme and distilled water (control). All cut flowers were kept at 25±2oC for 20 days and qualitative properties were evaluated during postharvest periods. Savory 2 mg L−1 exhibited as the most effective treatment for minimizing dehydration of the gladiolus cut flowers by enhancing the water absorption and flower weight rate than other treatments. The interaction of pulsing with CaCl2 and essential oils could maintain the quality of cut flowers.
