NON-ENZYMATIC ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF SKIN AND FLESH OF NEAR-ISOGENIC LINES OF MELON IS LINKED TO POSTHARVEST BEHAVIOR

Skin and flesh properties at harvest play an important role in melon quality and both tissues have been proposed as good sources of antioxidants.
Most melon cultivars are not bred specifically to obtain antioxidants or for postharvest purposes, and the genetic bases to design cultivars with better antioxidant profiles or post-harvest performance are not well known.
In this paper we examine the link between skin or flesh antioxidant activity, polyphenol content and climacteric behavior.
The plant material consisted of five climacteric and one non-climacteric near-isogenic line (NILs) of melon (Cucumis melo L.) and the non-climacteric parental ‘Piel de Sapo’ (PS) as control.
The skins were characterized by their high ability to scavenge free radicals and polyphenol concentrations higher than the flesh, irrespective of the DPPH or ABTS method used to estimate antioxidant activity.
Higher skin DPPH antioxidant activity was detected in climacteric NILs than in the PS or the non-climacteric one.
Three climacteric NILs showed higher ABTS skin antioxidant activity than PS. The flesh polyphenol content or total antioxidant activity were similar in the NILs and PS, except two climacteric NILs which showed higher ABTS antioxidant activity and had a higher polyphenol content than PS. The possible link between these properties and other properties involved in storability or fruit quality are discussed.

XXVIII International Horticultural Congress on Science and Horticulture for People (IHC2010): International Symposium on Postharvest Technology in the Global Market

Y. Piñeros, J.P. Fernández-Trujillo

climacteric behavior, Cucumis melo, fruit quality, quality-oriented breeding, near-isogenic lines

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.934.129