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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #159331
Title: CAROTENOIDS AND VITAMIN C CHANGES BY SEMI-COMMERCIAL ULTRA-LOW OXYGEN STORAGE IN GRAPEFRUIT

Author
item PATIL, BHIMANAGOIDA - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
item Shellie, Krista

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2002
Publication Date: 4/1/2004
Citation: PATIL, B.S., SHELLIE, K. CAROTENOIDS AND VITAMIN C CHANGES BY SEMI-COMMERCIAL ULTRA-LOW OXYGEN STORAGE IN GRAPEFRUIT. ACTA HORTICULTURAE 632:321-328.

Interpretive Summary: Exposing fresh grapefruit for approximately 21 days to a nitrogen atmosphere containing a very small amount of oxygen (0.05 kPa) during refrigerated (14C) surface transport has been suggested to provide quarantine security against Mexican fruit fly, and suppress the incidence of green mold. Findings from this research suggest that these storage conditions result in fruit containing higher concentrations of beta carotene, lycopene and vitamin C. Elevated concentrations of beta carotene, lycopene and vitamin C could have beneficial effects on health promotion and disease prevention.

Technical Abstract: Fresh grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) shipped to Japan and South Korea must be certified free of Mexican fruit fly. Short-term (~21 days) refrigerated (14C) storage of grapefruit under ultra-low oxygen (0.05 kPa oxygen, rest nitrogen) during marine transport may provide quarantine security against Mexican fruit fly as well as reduce the incidence of green mold. The objective of this research was to determine whether storage in refrigerated ultra-low oxygen altered grapefruit nutritional content. Three commercial shipping cartons of grapefruit were harvested from each of three trees and stored for 35 days inside a 20 ft marine container maintained at 14C and 0.05 kPa oxygen (treated) or inside a walk-in cooler in air at 10C (control). Thirty treated and control fruit were analyzed for beta carotene, lycopene, and vitamin C content after an additional 14 days of storage in air at 21C. Fruit stored under ultra-low oxygen had significantly higher concentrations of beta carotene, lycopene, and vitamin C, suggesting that short-term exposure to ultra-low oxygen refrigerated storage may have the beneficial effect of enhancing health related functional components in the grapefruit.