Chemical Composition of the Cuticle Membrane of Pitaya Fruits ( Hylocereus Polyrhizus )

Hua Huang and Yueming Jiang
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Hua Huang: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Yueming Jiang: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China

Agriculture, 2019, vol. 9, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: This study comprehensively analysed the chemical composition of the cuticle in pitaya fruits. The total coverage amount of the waxes versus cutin monomers accumulated at a ratio of 0.6, corresponding to masses per unit of 30.3 μg·cm −2 and 50.8 μg·cm −2 , respectively. The predominant wax mixtures were n -alkanes in homologous series of C 20 –C 35 , dominated by C 31 and C 33 ; as well as triterpenoids with an abundant amount of uvaol, lupenon, β-amyrinon, and β-amyrin. The most prominent cutin compounds were C 16 - and C 18 -type monomers, in which 9(10),16-diOH-hexadecanoic acid and 9,10-epoxy-ω-OH-octadecanoic acid predominated, respectively. The average chain length (ACL) of aliphates in pitaya fruit cuticle (30.5) was similar to that estimated in leaf waxes, and higher than that in most of the fruit and petal waxes that have been reported. We propose that the relatively high ACL and wax/cutin ratio might enhance the cuticular barrier properties in pitaya fruit cuticle to withstand drought.

Keywords: pitaya fruit; cuticle; wax; cutin; ACL (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: 2019
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