physiological and biochemical changes of different fresh-cut mango cultivars stored at 5 °c

Original article

Physiological and biochemical changes of different fresh-cut

mango cultivars stored at 5 �C

Gustavo A. Gonzalez-Aguilar,1* Jorge Celis,1 Rogelio R. Sotelo-Mundo,1 Laura A. de la Rosa,2

Joaquin Rodrigo-Garcia2 & Emilio Alvarez-Parrilla2

1 Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo, A.C. (CIAD, AC), Direccion de Tecnologıa de Alimentos de Origen Vegetal, Carretera a

la Victoria Km 0.6 La Victoria, Hermosillo, Sonora CP83000, Mexico

2 Departamento de Ciencias Basicas, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas, Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, Anillo Envolvente del PRONAF

y Estocolmo s/n, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua CP32310, Mexico

(Received 21 September 2005; Accepted in revised form 15 June 2006)

Summary Treatments to inhibit browning, decay and to extend shelf life of ‘Keitt’, ‘Kent’ and ‘Ataulfo’ mango

cultivars as a fresh-cut produce were investigated. Combinations of calcium chloride (CaCl2), antioxidants

[ascorbic acid (AA), citric acid (CA)] and two commercial film coatings resulted in a reduction of browning

and deterioration of fresh-cut mangoes stored at 5 �C, especially for the Ataulfo cultivar. The use of

CaCl2 + AA + CA significantly reduced colour deterioration, loss of firmness and did not affect sensory

characteristics of fresh-cut mango, with a larger effect in the Ataulfo cultivar. In general, these treatments

prevented loss of sugar and vitamin C of cubes during storage at 5 �C. Shelf life of this cultivar was 21 days,

while that of Keitt and Kent was only 9 and 12 days, respectively. There is a correlation between carotene

and vitamin C content of Ataulfo mango and its longer shelf life compared with the other cultivars.

Keywords Calcium chloride, b-carotene, edible coating, Mangifera indica, shelf life, sugars, vitamin C.

Introduction

Postharvest losses of tropical fruits are a seriousproblem because of rapid deterioration during handling,transport and storage (Yahia, 1998). Although fresh-cutproduces are more accepted and demanded by themarket, the process itself may decrease the shelf lifebecause of wounding, increased metabolic activities andloss of enzymes and substrates. Other disadvantages offresh-cut include browning, softening, decay and off-flavour development (Watada et al., 1990; Varoquax &Wiley, 1994). Fresh-cut vegetables deteriorate fasterthan intact produce (Cantwell, 1995). This is a directresult of the wounding associated with processing, whichleads to a number of physical and physiological changesaffecting the viability and quality of the produce(Saltveit, 1997).Moreover, tropical fresh-cut fruit increases the rates

of respiration and ethylene production within minutes ofcutting (Abe & Watada, 1991) and has a reduced shelflife of 1–3 days at optimal temperatures compared with1–2 weeks for the whole fruit (Ahvenainen, 1996). The

visual symptoms of fresh-cut produce deteriorationinclude loss of firmness, changes in colour (especiallyincreased oxidative browning at the cut surface)and microbial contamination (Varoquax & Wiley,1994; Brecht, 1995). Fresh-cut tropical fruits are moreperishable than those from temperate climate, such asapples, nectarines, peaches and pears. For this reason, itis important to control the variables related to thedeteriorative processes of these fresh-cut produces, inorder to maintain quality attributes for a time periodlong enough to allow marketing.Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables are generally packaged

in film bags or containers over-wrapped with film,which create a modified atmosphere within the package(MAP). Low storage temperature and MAP are com-monly used to extend the shelf life of many whole andfresh-cut fruit and vegetable products, as they reduce therespiration rate, surface damage and browning (Gorny,1997; Thompson, 1998). More recently, it has reportedthat film coating can extend shelf life in fresh-cutproduces.Edible coatings are thin films that improve produce

quality and can be safely eaten as part of the productand do not add unfavourable properties to the foodstuff(Baldwin, 1994; Ahvenainen, 1996). Edible coatings

*Correspondent: Fax: +52-662-2800055;

e-mail: [email protected]

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2008, 43, 91–101 91

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.01394.x

� 2007 Institute of Food Science and Technology Trust Fund

provide a barrier against external elements and thereforeincrease shelf life (Guilbert et al., 1996) by reducing gasexchange, loss of water, flavours and aroma and solutemigration towards the cuticle (Saltveit, 2001). The firstkind of edible coatings were water–wax microemulsions,used since the 1930s to increase brightness and colour infruits, as well as fungicide carriers. Water loss is anotherproblem that can be controlled with edible wax coatings(Debeaufort et al., 1998). Edible waxes can also offerprotection against cold damage under storage (Nussi-novitch & Lurie, 1995). Nowadays, an edible coating ismade of polysaccharides, proteins and lipids (Guilbertet al., 1996) and resins as well (Baldwin et al., 1995).Lipid-based coatings are excellent for preventing dehy-dratation, and add brightness to the epidermis. Differentkind of components and concentrations lead to differentlevels of gas exchange (O2 and CO2).One commercially available edible coating is Semper-

FreshTM (AgriCoat Industries Ltd, Berkshire, UK)which is made of saccharose fatty acid ester on acarboxymethyl cellulose base, containing fatty acidmono- and diglycerides (Bayindirli et al., 1995). Thesaccharose polyester component of edible films is knownas a major barrier for moisture loss (Park et al., 1994).These components slowdown ripening and increase shelflife of produces (James & McGregor, 2000).A factor that must be considered when selecting an

edible coat is that products which provide adequate gasexchange are not good water barriers. Furthermore,those that prevent water losses led to anaerobicconditions in the MAP (Baldwin, 1994). The impact ofthis anaerobic environment on the biochemistry offresh-cut fruit has not been addressed and should notbe underestimated in the formation of unpleasantflavours and aromas. However, information about theeffects of film coating on fresh-cut mangoes is veryscarce and the effect of minimal processing on differentmango cultivars has not been investigated yet.Losses in vitamin C, sugars, b-carotene during storage

of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables are very important andused as primary quantitative parameters of quality(Gorny, 2001). The content of ascorbic acid (AA) is animportant parameter, as it is an antioxidant itself andincreases the nutritional composition of the fresh-cutfruit. For example, its presence in red fruits is known toprotect anthocyanins from oxidation, leading to lesscolour losses (Vamos-Vigyazo, 1981). A previous reportin fresh-cut mango indicates that AA reduces browningand deterioration (Gonzalez-Aguilar et al., 2000). Onemain effect of edible coatings and antioxidants isprevention of nutrient loss during cold storage offresh-cut mangoes. Wounding and cutting increasesthe rate of vitamin loss (Klein, 1987), although little isknown about the effect of treatments in fresh-cutproduce during cold storage. Therefore, the objectiveof this article was to evaluate the effect of AA, citric acid

(CA), CaCl2 and film coating on the quality of threecultivars of fresh-cut mango stored at 5 �C.

Materials and methods

Plant materials

Mango fruits (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars Ataulfo,Kent and Keitt were obtained from Rosario, Sinaloa,Mexico during June and July 2002. The samples wererandomly selected and subjected to hydrothermal treat-ment because of fruit fly quarantine requirements forexport. Mangoes were stored at 15 �C until use. Trans-portation conditions were identical to those used forcommercial handling. Selected mature fruit had aninitial firmness of 18–27 N. Fruits were sorted toeliminate damaged or defective material, washed for3 min with chlorinated water (250 ppm), dried andrandomly divided into three to four lots for each variety.Mangoes were manually cut and pealed into 8 cm3

cubes, washed with chlorinated water (150 ppm) anddrained before treatment.Experimental treatments were (1) control (non-

treated); (2) antioxidant treatment (1% CaCl2 + 2%AA + 2% CA; pH 2.3); (3) Gustec film (1.5% v/v)and (4) SemperFresh film (1.5% v/v). Mango cubes(14–16 cubes per tray) were dipped for 3 min in testsolutions, drained and dried using paper towels andplaced in a 250 mL polystyrene plastic tray coveredwith lid. Thirty trays per treatment for each varietywere stored at 5 �C for up to 25 days.Respiration rate was measured by determination of

oxygen, carbon dioxide and ethylene after storage in agastight chamber, using gas chromatography (VarianStar 3400CX, Ottawa, ON, Canada) with ionisationflame detector and thermal conductivity detection. A2 m length HAYESEP N (Valco Instruments Co. Inc.,Houston, TX, USA) column (1/8¢¢, 80/100) was usedwith a filament temperature of 205 �C, injector tem-perature of 70 �C and detector temperature of 170 �C.Gas standards were 25% O2, 5% CO2 and 1 ppm C2H4.At 3-day intervals, samples were taken, in order todetermine colour (three trays per treatment), totalsolids, firmness, ethanol, acetaldehyde, AA, sugars andb-carotene (three trays per treatment).

Physical measurements

Colour was measured with a Minolta colorimeter CR-300 (Minolta Corp., Ramsey, NJ, USA) using theHunter scale L*, a*, b*, where L* was a darkening indexand b* the yellow. Two colour measurements per mangocube were taken. Total solids were determined using adigital refractometer (Atago PR-101; Atago Co. Ltd.,Tokyo, Japan). Firmness was measured using a firmnesstester (Texture Analyser TA-XT2; Arrow Scientific,

Physiological changes of fresh-cut mango G. A. Gonzalez-Aguilar et al.92

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2008, 43, 91–101 � 2007 Institute of Food Science and Technology Trust Fund

Lane Cove, NSW, Australia) with a stainless steelspherical probe of 1/4 ¢¢ diameter and a speed of10 mm s)1. Texture was reported as force in Newton(N) to penetrate 10 mm.

Decay and browning index

Acceptability, measured as the extent of decay anddarkening, was determined in ten trays per treatment atthe end of the shelf life (19 days for Ataulfo and 12 daysfor Kent and Keitt), through a subjective scale. Sub-jective evaluation was done by an untrained panel often people (six men and four women) using a hedonicscale (1 ¼ no darkening or damage, 3 ¼ minimal, 5 ¼moderated, 7 ¼ severe and 9 ¼ extreme). Data wereanalysed as percentage of distribution of scores usingstatistical analysis with chi-square statistics.

Biochemical measurements

b-CaroteneCarotene was measured as previously described byMejia et al. (1988). Fresh tissue (1 g) was homogenised(Ultra Turrax T-25 Basic S1; IKA Werke, USA[Staufen, Germany]) at 13 500 rpm for 2.5–3 min with15 mL of tetrahydrofuran, containing 0.4% ButylatedHydroxytoluene (BHT). The mixture was centrifugedfor 15 min at 10 000 g (Allegra 64R Centrifuge; Beck-man Coulter, Fullerton, CA, USA), filtered through a0.22-lm filter and analysed by HPLC using a MicrosorbRP-C18, 3 lm (4.6 mm · 10 cm) column with a 3 cmguard column (Supelco, Sigma Aldrich Co., BellefonteState, PA, USA) with acetonitrile/methanol/tetra-hydrofuran (58:35:7) as the mobile phase at a flow rateof 1.0 mL min)1. b-Carotene was detected by ultravioletabsorption at 460 nm and identified by retention timecomparison with standards and by standard addition or‘spiking’ (Johnson & Stevenson, 1978). Quantificationwas done by use of external standards and expressed interms of fresh weight.

Ascorbic acidAscorbic acid, sugars and b-carotene were analysedusing a Varian Solvent Delivery System pump Model9012 and a Rheodyne Model 7125 injector (RheodyneInc., Cotati, CA, USA) fitted with a 10 lL loop and aVarian Model 9020 UV-VIS absorbance detector. AAwas determined according to Doner & Hickts (1981).Fruit tissue (10 g) was homogenised for 2 min with50 mL of an aqueous solution containing 30 g L)1

metaphosphoric acid and 80 mL L)1 acetic acid. Thehomogenate was filtered and centrifuged for 15 minat 10 000 rpm. The supernatant was filtered through0.22-lm filter, and analysed by HPLC with a waters–NH2 type lBondapak (Waters Corporation, Milford,MA, USA) analytical column (3.9 · 300 mm, 10 lm),

and a mobile phase of acetonitrile/1 m KH2PO4 (75:25v/v) with a flow rate of 1.5 mL min)1. AA was detectedby ultraviolet absorption at 268 nm and concentrationswere calculated using a standard curve, and expressed interms of fresh weight.

SugarsFructose, glucose and sucrose were determined asdescribed by Smith et al. (1986). Fruit tissue (10 g)was homogenised with 50 mL of water, filtered andplaced in a 100 �C water bath (Series 180; PrecisionScientific, Chicago, IL, USA) for 15 min. The homo-genate was centrifuged for 15 min at 10 000 rpm,filtered through a 0.22-lm filter and analysed by HPLCusing a lBondapak/carbohydrate analytical column(3.9 · 300 mm, 10 lm) and a mobile phase of acetonit-rile/water (80:20 v/v) with a flow rate of 1.5 mL min)1.Sugars were detected and quantified at 192 nm usingstandard curves, and expressed in terms of fresh weight.

Ethanol and acetaldehyde contentThe determinations were based on the protocol by Davis& Chace (1969). Briefly, 5 g of tissue was placed in20 mL capacity amber-coloured tubes and incubated at65 �C in a water bath for 15 min. Headspace samples of1 mL were injected into a gas chromatograph equippedwith 2 m · 1/8 in. chromosorb stainless steel columnpacked with 80/100 lm mesh Porapak 101. Retentiontimes and standard curves of ethanol and acetaldehydein water solutions were used for peak identification andquantification. Oven temperature was 100 �C, injectortemperature 110 �C and detector temperature 180 �C(flame ionization detector) and N2 was used as carriergas.

Results and discussion

Colour changes

All three varieties of fresh-cut mangoes presentedchanges in colour (decreases in L* and b* values) duringstorage at 5 �C (Fig. 1), in agreement with Rattanapa-none et al. (2001), who observed a reduction in the L*value in ‘Tommy Atkins’ and Kent mango cubes storedin air during 8 days. The initial L* values for the threecultivars (Ataulfo, Kent and Keitt) were very similarbetween them (64–66) and decreased during storage,evident by the loss of brightness, a parameter used as anindicator of browning in fresh-cut fruits (Gonzalez-Aguilar et al., 2004). Figure 1 shows the decrease of theL* value, during different periods of time, depending onthe shelf life of each mango variety. In all cases,lightness of control samples showed a decrease ofapproximately 12–16 units. When the different treat-ments are compared, it is clear that the mixture ofantioxidants (AA + CA) have the best protection

Physiological changes of fresh-cut mango G. A. Gonzalez-Aguilar et al. 93

� 2007 Institute of Food Science and Technology Trust Fund International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2008, 43, 91–101

against browning. This was more evident for Ataulfoand Kent cultivars, where a reduction of only four unitswas observed at the end of the experimental period(Fig. 1a and b), compared with Keitt cultivar, where areduction of more than 10 units was observed. In thecase of the commercial film coating treatments, Fig. 1ashows that for Ataulfo cubes, there was a slightprotection against colour change. However, for Kentand Keitt cubes, no protection against colour change isevident (Fig. 1b and c). SemperFresh coating had nosignificative effect on colour in Kent and Keitt cubes.Decreases of b* values during storage, which were

reduced by treatment by antioxidants in the threecultivars, are shown in Fig. 1d–f. Both protective ediblefilms had a minimal effect on Ataulfo mangoes withrespect to antioxidant treatment, but better than con-

trols. Having in mind that a decrease in b* indicates aloss of yellowness, which is an important parameter inmangoes, these results suggest that antioxidants pre-served the original colour of the cubes, reducing itsbrowning. Antioxidant applications significantly main-tained constant b* values of fresh-cut mangoes, Ataulfoand Kent, after 3 days. However, b* values in Keittfresh-cut cubes decreased in higher extent with similarstorage times (Fig. 1f). The different protective effectobserved on fresh-cut mangoes treated with antioxi-dants, could be attributed to the individual character-istics of the evaluated cultivars. It has been observed indifferent studies that edible films prevented deteriorativeprocesses in whole fruit, but in this particular case didnot prevent significantly deterioration and browning offresh-cut mangoes.

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Figure 1 Colour variation (decrease in L* and b* values) of fresh-cut (a) Ataulfo, (b) Kent and (c) Keitt mangoes treated with antioxidants or edible

films during storage at 5 �C. For all figures, data points are mean of fifteen replicates and LSD at 5% level for time are shown (antioxidants:

2% AA + 2% CA, edible films: 2% GustecTM or SemperFreshTM). Data from SemperFresh are not shown in panels b, c, and f, as those were not

significantly different from control.



Firmness loss

It has been reported (Chantanawarangoon, 2000;Gonzalez-Aguilar et al. 2000) that there is a decreasein the firmness of fresh-cut mangoes during storage at5 �C, because of the release of water and othercompounds as a consequence of the cutting process.The texture variation, expressed as firmness loss, of thefresh-cut mangoes studied is shown in Fig. 2. The initialfirmness for Ataulfo (7–8 N) was higher than that forKent and Keitt (5–6 N). In agreement with previousstudies, during the storage period, there was a reductionin the firmness of the three mango varieties. Kent andKeitt cubes also showed a sharp reduction in theirfirmness during the first 3 days of storage at 5 �C, whileAtaulfo cubes had a less dramatic firmness decrease. Allthree cultivars maintained a significantly higher degreeof firmness throughout the storage period; when com-pared with untreated samples (control). No significantprotection of firmness loss was observed in cubes treatedwith edible films, in particular with SemperFresh coat-ing applied on Kent and Keitt cubes.

Decay and browning index

Decay and acceptability of the fresh-cut mangoes weremeasured subjectively by ten untrained panellists. Asone of the leading problems with fresh-cut products istheir enzymatic browning, acceptability was measured

considering the browning index. The decay and brown-ing indexes for fresh-cut Ataulfo mango are shown inFig. 3a and d, where the scores given by all ten panellistswere summarised as percentage. Considering thatbrowning values above seven represent severe orextreme damages, a score of 7 was considered as themaximum acceptability level. According to these cri-teria, after 21 days, 90% of the control cubes were notaccepted by the panellists. When the treatments wereanalysed, it was evident that the use of antioxidantsincreased the shelf life of the product, as only 33% of thecubes were rejected after 21 days. None of the ediblefilms presented good protection against decay (77% and80% rejection for Gustec and SemperFresh, respect-ively). Similar results were obtained for the decayanalysis. These results are in agreement with thoseobtained by Gonzalez-Aguilar et al. (2000), whichobserved that the use of antioxidants reduced browningof Kent cubes stored at 10 �C.In contrast, in the present study, decay and browning

indexes ofKent andKeitt cultivars stored at 5 �Cwerenotaffected by any of the treatments at 9 and 12 daysof storage, respectively. For Kent cubes, the rejectionscores were 65%, 55% and 60% for the control,antioxidant and Gustec film, respectively. Keitt cubesrejected values were 60%, 65% and 75% for the control,antioxidant and Gustec film, respectively. These resultssuggest that antioxidant treatment increases shelf lifeof Ataulfo fresh-cut mango, while no significant

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Figure 2 Firmness of fresh-cut (a) Ataulfo, (b) Kent and (c) Keitt mangoes treated with antioxidants or edible films during storage at 5 �C. Forall figures, data points are mean of six replicates and LSD at 5% level for time are shown (antioxidants: 2% AA + 2% CA, edible films:

2% Gustec or SemperFresh). Data from SemperFresh are not shown in panels b and c, as those were not significantly different from control.



conservation effect was observed for Kent or Keittvarieties stored at 5 �C. SemperFresh coating had nosignificative effect in decay and browning index of KentandKeitt cubes. According to these results, we concludedthat shelf life of fresh-cutmangoes differ with the cultivar.Shelf life of Ataulfo mango was 21 days, while that ofKeitt and Kent was only 9 and 12 days, respectively.The lower rejection percentages obtained for the

Ataulfo cultivar could be related to the lower levels ofcolour change and firmness loss described previously,because the rapid loss of firmness is related to lessvisual appearance, deterioration and browning asobserved in fresh-cut pineapples (Gonzalez-Aguilaret al., 2004). It has been observed that methoxy-pectin-based edible coating maintained freshness of ‘Arumanis’fresh-cut mango for up to 5 days at 5 �C.

b-Carotene

b-Carotene occurs naturally in fruits on the lipid fractionor membranes. Initial b-carotene concentration washigher for Ataulfo mangoes, than for Kent and Keittcultivars (Fig. 4a–c). It was also observed that b-caroteneshowed a rapid increase during the first 3 days of storage,being greater for antioxidant-treated Ataulfo mangoes(Fig. 4a–c). In the case of Ataulfo, the initial increment of

b-carotene was followed by a sudden fall and a slightrecovery for up to 21 days of storage. After the initialincrease in b-carotene concentrations, Kent and Keittcultivars showed a gradual reduction of the vitaminconcentration. Mercadante & Rodriguez-Amaya (1998)found similar increases in b-carotene content duringripening in Tommy-Atkins and Keitt mangoes, with finalvalues of approximately 55 mg g)1 fresh tissue. Mangoripening produces an increase in b-carotene content,which is more significant at room temperature, and maybe due to an increase in mevalonic acid and geraniolsyntheses, which lead to higher levels of total carotenes(Mitra & Baldwin, 1997). It is worthwhile tomention thatinitial values of b-carotene were higher for the Ataulfovariety. Moreover, after 21 days of storage, b-carotenelevels remain almost the same in control samples, andwere slightly higher in samples treated with protectivefilms. The final b-carotene concentration in Kent andKeitt cultivars, after 12 days of storage, was higher thanthe initial levels; however, no effect of treatments wasobserved. However, no significant effect on b-carotenecontent was observed in cubes treated with SemperFreshcoating applied to Kent and Keitt cubes.According to these results, it is suggested that the

fresh-cut processing does not inhibit the increase inb-carotene because of mango ripening and more

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Figure 3 Decay and browning of fresh-cut (a) Ataulfo, (b) Kent and (c) Keitt mangoes treated with antioxidants or edible films during storage

at 5 �C, at the end of the conservation period (21, 9 and 12 days for Ataulfo, Kent and Keitt, respectively). For all figures, data points are mean

of fifteen replicates (antioxidants: 2% AA + 2% CA, edible films: 2% Gustec or SemperFresh). Data from SemperFresh are not shown for

Kent and Keitt mangoes, as those were not significantly different from control.



important, even at the end of shelf life, all three cultivarsretain their carotene content, providing an importantsource of this scarce nutrient to the diet.

Ascorbic acid

Fruits are naturally recognised by their vitamin Ccontribution to diet, and it is known that processingand ripening decreases its levels (Lee & Kader, 2000). Asthe oxidative processes occur more rapidly in fresh-cutproducts, they are expected to have more lossescompared with the whole fruits (Allong et al., 2000).This behaviour was found in this work (Fig. 4d–f). Theantioxidant treatment prevented vitamin C degradation,and furthermore, even enriched the mango cubes of the

three varieties, because of the immersion of the cubesinto a vitamin-C-containing solution. Initial values ofthis vitamin were much higher for Ataulfo mangoes(115 mg g)1) compared with �15 mg g)1 for Kent andKeitt cultivars. These initial differences consequently ledto final values of 80, 10 and 12 mg g)1 for Ataulfo, Kentand Keitt varieties, respectively. Oxidative reactionsseem to be the main cause of vitamin C deterioration,and therefore the antioxidant treatment may preventsuch losses, leading to a fresh-cut product with a finalAA content as high as the fresh fruits for Kent and Keittmangoes (Fig. 4e and f). Figure 4d shows a slightprotection against vitamin C degradation after 9 dayswhen compared with control, which is more evident forGustec compared with SemperFresh film. No significant

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Figure 4 Evolution of b-carotene and vitamin C concentration in fresh-cut (a) Ataulfo, (b) Kent and (c) Keitt mangoes treated with antioxidants

or edible films during storage at 5 �C. For all figures, data points are mean of six replicates and LSD at 5% level for time are shown (antioxidants:

2% AA + 2% CA, edible films: 2% Gustec or SemperFresh). Data from SemperFresh are not shown in panels b, c, e and f, as those were

not significantly different from control.



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Figure 5 Concentration of glucose, fructose and sucrose of fresh-cut (a) Ataulfo, (b) Kent and (c) Keitt mangoes treated with antioxidants or

edible films during storage at 5 �C. For all figures, data points are mean of six replicates and LSD at 5% level for time are shown (antioxidants: 2%

AA + 2% CA, edible films: 2% Gustec or SemperFresh). Data from SemperFresh are not shown for Kent and Keitt mangoes, as those were

not significantly different from control.



protection against vitamin C degradation was observedwhen edible films were used with Kent and Keittcultivars, as observed in Fig. 4e and f.

Sugars

Sugars are a key component of the organolepticproperties of the mango fruit. Variations in sugarcontent during storage and treatment effects are shownin Fig. 5. In general, these values show great variability,and they have a major importance in the flavour andacceptance of the fruit. Each cultivar has its owncharacteristic variation in sugars upon ripening (Selvarajet al., 1989). Several authors indicate that glucose andfructose are decreased, while sucrose increases(Vazquez-Salinas & Lakshminarayana, 1985). Others

suggest that starch is hydrolysed and sugars areincreased during ripening stages (Mitra & Baldwin,1997). In general, qualitative and quantitative changesin sugars observed during storage in fresh-cut productsdo not follow a characteristic pattern, as observed in thisstudy. Previous results demonstrate that changes inindividual monosaccharides (fructose and glucose) donot correlate with levels of sucrose observed in the tissueafter storage (Soliva-Fortuny et al., 2004). It is ofcommon knowledge that sucrose is the main sugar in aripe mango (Gonzalez-Aguilar et al., 2000).In this study, initial sucrose levels found in Ataulfo

were sixfold higher (12 mg g)1) compared with thoseobserved in Kent and Keitt cultivars (Fig. 5g–i). Glu-cose levels of approximately 1 mg g)1 were found inAtaulfo and Kent, while non-treated Keitt cubes showed

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anol

(µL

1g–1

fw)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0


0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21

Ace

tald

ehyd

e (µ

L 1g

–1 fw

)

0.00

0.03

0.06

0.09

0.12

Ataulfo Kent Keitt

a b c

d e f

Figure 6 Changes in ethanol and acetaldehyde concentration of fresh-cut (a) Ataulfo, (b) Kent and (c) Keitt mangoes treated with antioxidants

or edible films during storage at 5 �C. For all figures, data points are mean of four replicates (antioxidants: 2% AA + 2% CA, edible films: 2%

Gustec or SemperFresh). Data from SemperFresh are not shown in panels b, c, e and f, as those were not significantly different from control.



undetectable glucose levels (Fig. 5d–f). Fructose contentwas very similar among the three cultivars, ranging from2 to 3 mg g)1. Keitt mangoes treated with antioxidantsshowed slightly higher levels of glucose and fructose(Fig. 5a–c).

Ethanol and acetaldehyde

Ethanol and acetaldehyde are by-products of fruitfermentation, and their presence is associated with off-flavours and odours, which reduce quality of produce(Ke et al., 1991). Previous reports on the use of ediblecoatings and modified atmospheres indicated that theirinappropriate use could lead to formation of odoursand flavours unpleasant to the consumer (Baldwinet al., 1995; Guilbert et al., 1996). In this study, anti-oxidant or edible coatings prevented ethanol forma-tion in all three cultivars, during storage at 5 �C(Fig. 6a–c). It is noteworthy to mention that Ataulfois the cultivar that developed higher amounts ofethanol during senescence (1.7 lL g)1 fresh weight),and this resulted in higher levels of acetaldehyde aswell (Fig. 6d–f), while Keitt showed undetectable levelsof ethanol during the 12 days of storage. Ethanolproduction was significantly reduced by all treatmentsin the same extent when compared with controlsamples. Acetaldehyde was synthesised in untreatedmangoes to final concentrations of 0.16 and0.08 lL g)1 in Ataulfo and Kent cultivars, respect-ively. In agreement with the undetectable ethanollevels observed in Keitt mangoes, acetaldehyde pro-duction was also the lowest of the three cultivars(0.03 lL g)1). It is worthwhile to indicate that anti-oxidants and protective films inhibited ethanol andacetaldehyde production of Ataulfo during the 21 daysof storage (Fig. 6a and d).To date, there is no data indicating the threshold

(perception) level for identification of ethanol oracetaldehyde volatiles in fresh-cut mangoes by panel-lists (consumers). Lack of production of ethanol andacetaldehyde is a good indicator of the favourableeffect of edible coatings and antioxidants on the fresh-cut fruits. In apple slices, anaerobic fermentation by-products were easily eliminated by use of a modifiedatmosphere of 21% O2 and 0.03% CO2 (Gil et al.,1998). Moreover, it is known that CO2 has aninhibitory effect on ethanol and acetaldehyde accumu-lation in apple slices.One important conclusion of this work is the excellent

nutritional quality of the Ataulfo cultivar. We haveshown that its vitamin C and b-carotene content arehigh for the fruit and are well kept during the processingas a fresh-cut product. Moreover, in agreement withprevious studies, antioxidant, and to a lesser extent,protective films reduced colour changes, firmness lossand decay and browning indexes, while inhibiting

unwanted by-products, leading to a higher acceptabilityof the fresh-cut Ataulfo mangoes.According to the results obtained in this study, we

conclude that Ataulfo mango is an excellent variety foruse in the fresh-cut industry, with better shelf life andnutritional content when treated with the antioxidanttreatment of AA and CA. In addition, the long shelflife of Ataulfo fresh-cut mango compared with theother cultivars offers to producers a new alternative tomarketing this cultivar as fresh-cut produce to distantmarkets.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the financial support from CIAD,CONACYT-SAGARPA grant 12510 (Mexico) andCYTED Project XI.22 ‘Desarrollo de Tecnologıas parala Conservacion de Productos Vegetales Frescos Cort-ados’. This work is part of the M.Sc. Thesis of theauthor Jorge Celis.

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physiological and biochemical changes of different fresh-cut mango cultivars stored at 5 °c

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