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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #410528
Research Project: Postharvest Protection of Tropical Commodities for Improved Market Access and Quarantine Security

Location: Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research

Title: Antifungal efficiency and mechanisms of ethyl ferulate against postharvest pathogens

Author
item SHU, CHANG - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item Sun, Xiuxiu
item CAO, JIANKANG - China Agricultural University
item DROBY, SAMIR - Volcani Center (ARO)
item JIANG, WEIBO - China Agricultural University

Submitted to: International Journal of Food Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2024
Publication Date: 4/20/2024
Citation: Shu, C., Sun, X.N., Cao, J., Droby, S., Jiang, W. 2024. Antifungal efficiency and mechanisms of ethyl ferulate against postharvest pathogens. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 417. Article 110710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2024.110710.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2024.110710

Interpretive Summary: Ethyl ferulate (EF) exerted potent antifungal activity against a broad spectrum of postharvest pathogens. It displayed significant in vitro inhibition of pathogens by disrupting plasma membrane integrity and suppressing pathogenicity-related gene expression. EF significantly inhibited postharvest decay by directly acting at wound sites after being incorporated into edible coatings. These results provide insights regarding the underlying antifungal mechanism of EF in the field of postharvest food protection.

Technical Abstract: Severe postharvest loss induced by a range of pathogens necessitates strategies to explore efficient novel antifungal compounds. This study evaluated the antifungal activity of ethyl ferulate (EF). The results demonstrated EF exerts potent antifungal activity against a wide board of postharvest fungi. Further data revealed its antifungal mechanism is multifaceted, and EF may bind to and disturb the integrity of the plasma membrane, causing intracellular content leakage, and losing normal morphology and ultrastructure. EF also induced severe oxidative stress in the pathogen, causing membrane lipid peroxidation and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation. EF could inhibit the pathogenicity-related gene expression, affecting its metabolic regulation, antioxidant metabolism, and cell wall degrading enzymes. EF exhibited significant antifungal efficiency in vivo, directly applied on the fruit and incorporated with chitosan coating significantly inhibited fruit postharvest disease severity. Due to its wide board and efficient antifungal activity, it may be conducive as a promising alternative to control postharvest decay.