ε -Poly- l -lysine Suppressed Decay Development and Maintained Storage Quality in Guava Fruit by ROS Level Regulation and Antioxidant Ability Enhancement

Yingying An, Li Li, Mingming Wen, Feng Luo, Mei Tan, Yuzhao Lin and Hongbin Chen ()
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Yingying An: College of Oceanology and Food Science, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou 362000, China
Li Li: College of Oceanology and Food Science, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou 362000, China
Mingming Wen: College of Oceanology and Food Science, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou 362000, China
Feng Luo: College of Oceanology and Food Science, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou 362000, China
Mei Tan: College of Oceanology and Food Science, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou 362000, China
Yuzhao Lin: College of Oceanology and Food Science, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou 362000, China
Hongbin Chen: College of Oceanology and Food Science, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou 362000, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: Guava fruit is susceptible to decay, leading to losses in storability and quality. ε -Poly- l -lysine ( ε -PL) is a safe antimicrobial polypeptide that has proven to be effective in preserving produce’s quality. In the present research, ε -PL, at multiple concentrations (1, 2 and 4 g/L), was adopted to treat guavas, and the fruit were stored at 25 °C for 15 d. The results indicated that ε -PL retarded the guava storability decline and enhanced its quality. Treated guavas had a better appearance, as well as the lower disease index, relative electrolytic leakage, weight loss, respiration intensity, a * and b * values and reducing sugar content. They also showed higher firmness, commercially acceptable fruit rate, titratable acidity, L * value, total soluble sugar, vitamin C and sucrose levels. The optimal concentration of ε -PL was determined to be 2 g/L. Furthermore, compared to control guavas, fruit treated with 2 g/L ε -PL exhibited lower levels of superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde but higher antioxidant enzyme activities in terms of ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase. These findings suggested that ε -PL raised the antioxidant enzyme activities to enhance the fruit’s antioxidant ability. This, in turn, reduced the reactive oxygen species levels and lipid peroxidation, ultimately improving the guava’s quality. Consequently, ε -PL is of practical significance for commercial application as it suppresses decay and stabilizes the quality of guavas, enhancing their postharvest marketability.

Keywords: guava fruit; ε -poly- l -lysine; storability; postharvest quality; reactive oxygen species; antioxidant enzymes; antioxidant ability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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