Tropical fruits: A story of colour Maysoun A. Mustafa, Asgar Ali, Graham Seymour, Gregory Tucker
Centre of Excellence for Postharvest Biotechnology, School of Biosciences, The University of Nottingham
The hero in the story ● Almost one third of cancer cases and one half of heart diseases
are believed to be diet related ● Fruits are packed with benefits from anti-aging to improving
heart health, a number of which are attributed to phytochemicals:
LYCOPENE: anticancer, antibacterial, antioxidant and antitoxic Β-CAROTENE: anticancer, heart health, skin protection and
bone health ANTHOCYANINS: anticancer, anti-inflammatory and heart
health LUTEIN: eye protection, heart health and skin protection XANTHONES: anticancer, antioxidant, anti-allergic and
antibacterial
The climax of the story Postharvest losses are the food losses that occur during the delivery of food from the farm to consumers
Tropical fruits are often grown sporadically and their distribution is mismanaged resulting in losses Fruit losses occur in terms of both quantity and quality (phytochemical content)
Quantitative losses are estimated at 20 – 50% of produced food
Happy Ending? ● A number of tools have been successfully developed to
preserve the freshness and limit microbial infection on fruits. Examples include:
CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE: moderating the levels of atmospheric gases
EDIBLE COATING: an edible material applied directly on the fruit
REFRIGERATION: cold storage of fruits is an old practice that never grows old
OZONE TREATMENT: use of ionizing radiation to sanitize fruit
● These tools prolong the shelf-life of a range of fruits, However the phytochemical content of fruits is rather unstable and deteriorates rapidly during storage.
References 1. Rosa, L.A., Alvarez-Parilla, E. & Gonzalez-Aguilar, G.A. (Eds.) (2010). Fruit and Vegetable Phytochemicals:
Chemistry, Nutritional Value and Stability. Iowa : Wiley-Blackwell 2. Gonzalez-Aguilar, G.A., Villa-Rodriguez, J.A., Ayala-Zavala, J.F. & Yahia, E.M. (2010). Improvement of the
antioxidant status of tropical fruits as a secondary reponse to some postharvest treatments. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 21: 475 - 482
3. Patil, B.S., Jayaprakasha, G.K., Murthy, K.N.C. & Vikram, A. (2009). Bioactive Compounds: Historical Perspectives, Opportunities, and Challenges. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 57: 8142–8160
The story is global • There is increasing concern that people are overfed
but undernourished • Tropical fruits are being recognized for their health
benefits and their consumption is expanding globally • However, they are highly susceptible to damage
during distribution • Hence, the need for postharvest tools capable of
maintaining the quality as well as enhancing the phytochemical content of fruits
Setting the scene ● Tropical fruits have a beautiful assortment of colours ● These colours are due to the presence of various pigments
known as phytochemicals ● More than 2000 phytochemicals are found in plants, to
name a few:
Red in
tomatoes is lycopene
Purple in dragonfruit
is anthocyanin
Orange in papaya
is β-carotene
Green in kiwi and star fruit
is lutein
White in mangosteen is xanthones
Fruit from farm 100%
Fruit reaching consumers
49 - 82%
Food losses during the postharvest chain of food delivery
Selection & Packaging Transportation Storage
Processing & Handling Distribution
Mechanical and
Physiological damage
4 – 8%
Poor infrastructure
and coordination
1 - 4%
Pests, microbial
infection and overripening
4 – 8%
Excessive peeling,
trimming and polishing
2 – 10%
Unsafe food due to
inefficient handling
2 – 8%
