Effect of cutting and of maturity stage on lycopene content of fresh tomatoes during storage.
Moreira Lana M., Dekker M., Van Kooten O.
5th International Postharvest Symposium . Volume of Abstract . Verona, Italy 6-11 June 2004. page 27
2004
บทคัดย่อ
Effect of cutting and of maturity stage on lycopene content of fresh tomatoes during storage.
Tomatoes (cultivar Belissimo) were harvested in three maturity stage, corresponding to the following colour scales of the CBT (Centraal Bureau van de tuinbouwvilingen): I = grade 3; II = grade 5 and 6; III = grade 8. Within each maturity stage groups of six fruits as uniform as possible regarding visually observed colour, size and shape were selected.Three in each group were sliced before storage and the other three were stored intact.The fruits to be stored as slices were sliced in 7-mm thick transversal slices.Both intact and sliced fruits were stored at 5 °C.The initial content of lycopene for stages I, II and III was respectively 0.12 + 0.02, 0.24 + 0.04 and 0.7 +0.07 mg mg-1 dry weight.Both cut and whole fruit showed a similar behaviour during storage.After 9 days storage, the lycopene content of fruits at stage I and II hardly changed compared to the initial content, for both intact and sliced fruits.The same was observed for stage III after5 days storage, although in this case a slight decrease was observed in fruits stored intact, after 9 days.These data indicate that minimal processing does not change the accumulation of lycopene in fruits stored at 5 °C, compared to fruits stored intact.For sliced tomatoes the effect of storage temperature was studied as well, using a model that incorporates a synthesis and a degradation pathway.The following temperatures were used: 2 °C, 5°C, 8°C, 12 °C, and 16 °C.No major changes were observed, but small increases were observed at low temperatures.Different maturity stages responded slightly different with respect to this temperature effect.The results indicated that depending on the conditions net degradation or synthesis of lycopene can occur in sliced tomatoes.