Document Type : Original Article
Author
Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of fennel essential oils at 0, 250, 500 and 750 µLL-1 on bell pepper during cold storage for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days at 5°C and 28 days plus 3 days at room conditions. The aim was to maintain quality and reduce the chilling injury of bell pepper. Weight loss, appearance, decay, taste, color, total chlorophyll, chilling injury (CI), seed discoloration, electrolyte leakage (EL), soluble solids content (SSC), ascorbic acid, total phenols were measured. The results indicated that 750 µLL-1 of fennel essential oil was effective in maintaining the quality of bell pepper where had the lowest weight loss, decay, CI, seed discoloration, EL and SSC, and had the highest value of appearance, color, chlorophyll, taste, ascorbic acid and phenols during cold storage and shelf life at room conditions. Thus, these results indicate that fennel essential oils could be used as a safe treatment to preserve quality, alleviate CI and prolong postharvest life of stored bell pepper under low temperature and room conditions.
Keywords
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