Sucrolytic activity during cold and room temperature storage of carrots

D.V. Chaves, J. Karsten, J.P. Ferrareze, F.L. Zanatta, F.L. Finger
Biotic and abiotic stresses promote changes in several biochemical reactions in plant tissues, which may not be beneficial to the quality of the roots during storage. This study aimed to characterize the changes on the activity of sucrolytic enzymes in processed and whole carrots treated with ethylene and subsequently stored at two temperatures. The cultivars 'Alvorada', 'Brasília' and 'Esplanada' were harvested and separated in either whole carrots or baby carrots type Cenourete®. In each group, half received application ethylene (10 ppm 24 h-1) and the other half control. Afterwards, carrots were conditioned in plastic bags and stored at 8 and 25°C for 15 days. Samples were taken every three days for analyses of acid invertase, alkaline invertase and sucrose synthase. The visual quality of Cenouretes® after six days of storage did not reach industry standards (wilted and wrinkled root). It was observed that the activity of acidic and alkaline invertases increased, especially at room temperature, while the sucrose synthase activity had decreased or changed little. The application of ethylene did not cause major changes in the activity of enzymes but there was variation between the storage temperatures and between Cenourete® and the whole carrot during storage.
Chaves, D.V., Karsten, J., Ferrareze, J.P., Zanatta, F.L. and Finger, F.L. (2018). Sucrolytic activity during cold and room temperature storage of carrots. Acta Hortic. 1194, 425-430
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1194.61
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1194.61
acid invertase, alkaline invertase, sucrose synthase, Daucus carota, minimally processed
English

Acta Horticulturae