CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Fruit maturity stage at harvest influences the response to postharvest storage conditions and bioactivecompounds content. In this work fruit from two purple eggplant cultivars (Monarca and Perla Negra)were harvested at 12, 15, 18, 20 and 23 d after fruit set (designated as stages I through V) and changesin size, dry weight, calyx area, cell wall material (AIR, alcohol insoluble residue), firmness, respiration,and antioxidants (peel anthocyanins and pulp carotenoids, ascorbic acid, phenolics and chlorogenic acid)were determined. In a second set of experiments the postharvest performance of fruit harvested at stagesI (baby eggplants), III and IV (traditional harvest stages) during storage at 0 or 10 ºC was assessed. Fruit growth continued until late ripening in contrast to calyx expansion and peel anthocyanin accumulation,which were relatively earlier events. Fruit dry weight decreased between stages I and III, remaining con-stant afterwards. Baby eggplants had higher antioxidant capacity, chlorogenic acid (ChA), carotenoidsand ascorbic acid contents than late-harvested fruit. ChA predominated in pulp placental tissues at stage I, spreading throughout the fruit core at as ripening progressed. No marked differences in dry mass, antioxidant capacity or responses to postharvest storage regimes were found between fruit harvested atstages III and IV. Late pickings increased yields and led to less dense fruit, which had lower respiration rates. Within this harvest window, storage at 10 ºC maximized quality maintenance. In contrast baby eggplants stored better at 0 ºC. Understanding the developmental changes in bioactive compounds and postharvest performance may help in the maximization of fruit antioxidant properties as well as in the selection of the optimal handling conditions for each ontogenic stage.

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