Effects of three preservatives on postharvest storage of strawberry

ObjectivePreservation effects of three common chemical preservatives namely potassium citrate ,sodium sulfite and vitamin C on strawberry postharvest storage were investigated under room temperature ,in order to provide safety , efficient and economically competitive preservation technology for strawberry. MethodFlange strawberries used as tested material were soaked for 1 min in potassium citrate,sodium sulfite and vitamin C solution,respectively,with strawberries soaked in water as control. After being taken out and dried in the air,strawberries were stored at room temperature. Then, appearance,hardness,titratable acid content,vitamin C content and superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity of strawberry were determined,and effects of three preservatives on them were investigated,so as to screen optimal preservative and its con-centration. ResultResults showed that,the three preservatives had obvious effects on appearance and nutritional qual-ity of strawberry,especially 2% vitamin C with the best preservation effect,because vitamin C prolonged storage time, maintained appearance quality,effectively reduced hardness,restrained decline of contents of soluble solid,titratable acid and vitamin C and maintained high SOD activity. Moreover,contents of soluble solid,titratable acid and vitamin C,and SOD activity were 9.60%,1.30%,87.72 mg/100 g and 299.60 U/g,respectively,and 32.41%,9.68%,65.08% and 44.40%higher than those of control . ConclusionColour and nutritional quality of postharvest strawberry are kept by soaking strawberry in 2% vitamin C for 1 min,and refreshing time can reach 7 days,therefore vitamin C can be used in preserva-tion of postharvest strawberry.