Hydrogen Sulfide Inhibits Enzymatic Browning of Fresh-Cut Chinese Water Chestnuts
Yuan Dou, Chunmei Chang, Jing Wang, Zhipeng Cai, Wei Zhang, Huaying Du, Zengyu Gan, Chunpeng Wan, Jinyin Chen, Liqin Zhu
Abstract
This work investigates the role of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) in the browning and regulating the antioxidant defensive system in fresh-cut Chinese water chestnuts. The samples were fumigated with 0, 10, and 15 μl L −1 of H 2 S and stored at 10°C for 8 days. The results indicated that the H 2 S treatment significantly inhibited the browning of fresh-cut Chinese water chestnuts, reduced superoxide anion ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>O</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>·</mml:mo><mml:mo>-</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math> ) production rate and H 2 O 2 content accumulation, promoted the increase of total phenol content, and enhanced activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR) ( P &lt; 0.05). On the other hand, phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and peroxidase (POD) activities remained at a low level in the H 2 S treatment ( P &lt; 0.05). This result suggested that H 2 S treatment might be a promising approach to inhibit browning and prolong the shelf life by enhancing oxidation resistance and inhibiting browning enzyme activity of fresh-cut Chinese water chestnuts during storage. Among them, the 15 μl L −1 H 2 S treatment had the best effect on fresh-cut Chinese water chestnuts.