VITAMIN C MAPPING AS A NEW METHOD TO INVESTIGATE THE ORIGIN OF CORE BREAKDOWN IN ‘CONFERENCE’ PEARS

Core breakdown is a disorder that frequently occurs during storage of pears under certain controlled atmosphere conditions, characterised by a discoloration of the inner flesh core while the cortex tissue remains sound.
Recent research has shown that brown core development might be related to a decrease in vitamin C content.
To test this hypothesis, the postharvest evolution of vitamin C and its distribution inside the fruit was investigated.
A rapid breakdown of vitamin C during the cooling period was observed, while further losses during subsequent CA storage were minimal.
Immediate CA storage under brown-inducing conditions resulted in an eightfold faster vitamin C breakdown.
Vitamin C maps showed a strong asymmetrical distribution of vitamin C, indicating that vitamin C cannot be the only limiting factor.
It was concluded that vitamin C probably has a protective capability since the occurrence of healthy spots inside the brown zone corresponded with higher vitamin C levels.
A vitamin C threshold of 0.37 mg/100g was determined below which the incidence of internal browning was higher than 50%.

International Conference: Postharvest Unlimited

C. Franck, M. Baetens, J. Lammertyn, B.M. Nicolaï, M.W. Davey

physiological disorder, browning, HPLC, controlled atmosphere, fruit quality

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2003.599.71