Research Article

Natural additives to preserve quality and improve

nutritional value of fresh-cut nectarine

Natalia Falagán, Francisco Artés and Encarna Aguayo

Abstract
There is currently a high demand for natural and fresh-cut fruits. In this study, natural additives were applied to
fresh-cut nectarines: (1) control, nontreated; (2) wedges were dipped in an antibrowning solution containing
calcium ascorbate (AB); (3) and (4) wedges were dipped in an AB plus natural antimicrobial agents (vanillin or
cinnamic acid, respectively). After these treatments, fresh-cut nectarines were packed and stored at 5  C for
eight days. The treatments ABþVanillin and ABþCinnamic inhibited microbial counts when compared with
control and AB-only samples. The application of these solutions did not impart any aromas or off-flavors to
nectarines and maintained firmness during the shelf-life period. AB solutions inhibited polyophenol oxidase
action and reduced browning while stabilizing the soluble phenolic content, increasing consumer’s accept-
ance. Nectarine wedges assimilated the ascorbic acid from the AB solution and retained it during the shelf-life
period. The combination of an antibrowning agent and natural antimicrobials helped to control microbio-
logical growth while maintaining high-quality parameters. They can be an attractive ‘‘green’’ alternative for
organic fresh-cut products to other chemical sanitizers such as chlorine.

Keywords
Bioactive compounds, microbiology, vanillin, cinnamic acid
Date received: 14 July 2015; accepted: 2 November 2015

INTRODUCTION The consumption of foods rich in antioxidants is

The consumption of fresh-cut (FC) products has recommended, and fruits are one of the best and cheap-
increased, as consumers want fresh and healthy est sources of these compounds; they can be found in
products that are adapted to their lifestyles (Aguayo the market as peeled, cut, and packaged alone or in fruit
et al., 2010). FC produce consumption is encouraged salads (Silveira et al., 2013). Among the commodities
due to the positive effects of their phytochemical con- used for FC products, nectarines are very demanded
tents, which can protect human health (Alarcón-Flores by consumers due to their nutritional quality and func-
et al., 2013). These benefits come from their chemical tional characteristics. However, minimal process-
composition (Aubert et al., 2014), which includes vita- ing of nectarines is difficult, as they possess a short
min C and phenolic compounds. These compounds act shelf-life as a result of enzymatic browning and/or
as antioxidants that neutralize free radicals, which are a pulp firmness loss (Bordonaba et al., 2014). Processing
product of the normal metabolism that occurs in the
mitochondria (Carocho and Ferreira, 2013), so their Postharvest and Refrigeration Group, Regional Campus of
presence is unavoidable. This has resulted in the FC International Excellence ‘‘Campus Mare Nostrum,’’ Food and
industry becoming a multibillion dollar industry inter- Health Unit. Institute of Plant Biotechnology, Universidad
nationally (Santos et al., 2014). Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT), Murcia, Spain
Corresponding author:
Food Science and Technology International 0(0) 1–11 Encarna Aguayo, Postharvest and Refrigeration Group, Regional
! The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: Campus of International Excellence ‘‘Campus Mare Nostrum,’’
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav Food and Health Unit. Institute of Plant Biotechnology,
DOI: 10.1177/1082013215621816 Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT), Paseo Alfonso
fst.sagepub.com XIII, 48, 30203 Cartagena, Murcia, Spain.
Email: [email protected]

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Food Science and Technology International 0(0)

operations provoke cell breakdown, releasing its beginning of ripening (April 26th) according to com-
contents which act as the substrate for enzymes involved mercial criteria, which are based on the maturity index
in oxidation reactions, and also facilitating microbial calculated as the ratio soluble solids content (SSC)/
contamination (Zhang et al., 2015). titratable acidity (TA) with a 6.99  0.07 value. At har-
In general, FC products have a high risk of micro- vest, around 60 kg fruits were sampled and immediately
bial contamination, which should be controlled, and transported to the Pilot Plant of the Postharvest and
this can be carried out through the use of naturally Refrigeration Group at the Technical University of
derived extracts such as vanillin or trans-cinnamic Cartagena. Fruits were kept in a cold room at
acid, which are preferred due to consumers’ demand 0  0.5  C and 90–95% relative humidity (RH) until
for nonsynthetic additives. Vanillin (4-hydroxy-3- the following day, when individual fruits were selected
methoxybenzaldehyde) is considered to be a ‘‘generally by eliminating those with external defects or bruises.
regarded as safe’’ (GRAS) substance by the FDA and The minimal processing of the nectarines took place
has been shown to have antimicrobial activity in several in a cleaned and disinfected cold room at 8  C. Sound
matrices (Abadı́as et al., 2011; Rojas-Graü et al., 2007). fruits were cut vertically into 6–8 wedges with a sharp
The vanillin employed in 90% of the products that use stainless steel knife. Then, nectarine wedges were
this compound comes from eugenol, lignin, or guaiacol dipped in a water solution at 5  C with 150 ppm
(Cava-Roda et al., 2012). Trans-cinnamic acid is also NaClO (pH 6.0) for 2 min and rinsed out for 1 min in
GRAS and is normally obtained by distilling cinnamon 5  C tap water.
bark. Both of these naturally derived compounds show After that, wedges were grouped into four groups
antioxidant properties (Álvarez et al., 2014), making according to different treatments. In the first group,
their use for FC fruits very interesting. the control treatment, nectarine wedges (250 g) were
Besides the use of the compounds described above, gently dried with filter paper and packaged in 2 l rigid
cultivar (cv.) selection is crucial. It is very convenient to polypropylene (PP) trays. These trays were heat sealed
choose cvs. that already possess a low susceptibility to (Barket, Befor Model, Chassieu, France) on top with a
browning, an appropriate texture, and good sensory 35 mm thick oriented PP film (Plásticos del Segura S.L.,
evaluation scores (Keenan et al., 2012). In this study, Murcia, Spain), creating a passive modified atmosphere
the extra-early nectarine cv., VioWhite 5, was selected (data not shown). The film’s permeability was
(Prunus persica var. Nectarina). This cv. is the earliest 900 cm3 O2 m2 day1 atm1 and 1100 cm3 CO2 m2
on the market and has a high commercial value. day1 atm1 at 23  C and 0% RH. In the second
Currently, it is not very common to find FC nectarines group, an AB treatment based on 6% calcium L-ascor-
in the early spring because the little existing production bate dehydrate in distilled water was applied (CAS
is mainly during late spring and throughout summer. 5743-28-2, Aldrich, USA, 99% purity). This concentra-
Despite this, the FC nectarine demand is increasing tion was used according to previous studies performed
(Pace et al., 2011). Even though it could be used to on FC apple (Aguayo et al., 2010). Nectarine wedges
widen the fruit’s offering in the market, no research were dipped into this solution for 1 min and then
on FC nectarines of this type has been done before. packaged as the control treatment. The third and
The aim of this work was to obtain a FC extra-early fourth treatments included vanillin (1 g l1;
nectarine with an improved overall quality by the appli- ABþVanillin) and trans-cinnamic acid (150 mg l1;
cation of an optimum combination of naturally derived ABþCinnamic), respectively, as antimicrobial agents
compounds for inhibiting or at least retarding enzymatic in the AB solution described above. These antimicro-
browning development, increasing its functional bial concentrations were chosen according to the good
characteristics. results obtained in FC melon by Silveira et al. (2015).
The vanillin (CAS 121-33-5, Sigma, USA, 99% purity)
MATERIAL AND METHODS was previously dissolved in 250 ml of water at 30  C,
and the trans-cinnamic acid came from Aldrich
Raw material and treatments applied
(C80857, Aldrich, Netherlands, 99% purity) and was
Nectarines came from 11-year-old extra-early nectarine dissolved directly in water at room temperature. In
cv. VioWhite 5 trees grafted onto plum ‘‘Puebla de Soto both cases, the nectarine pieces were immersed in the
101’’ rootstock at a spacing of 6 m  3.5 m in a com- solution for 1 min and packaged in the same way as the
mercial farm located in Murcia, Spain (38 80 N, 1 control. Each 250 g tray was considered a replicate and
130 W). This cv. was chosen because of its high commer- all data were means of three replicates. All trays were
cial value due to its early picking date, which com- stored in a cold room at 5  C for eight days. For
mands a high market price, and its suitable size for the analysis of secondary metabolites and polyphenol
European markets. Nectarines were collected at the oxidase (PPO) enzyme activity, nectarine wedges

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 Falagán et al.

Analysis of bioactive compounds and

were cut into small sections, frozen in liquid N2, ground
enzymatic activity
to a fine powder with a mincer (IKA, A 11 basic, Berlin,
Germany), and stored at 80  C until analyzed. Materials, extractions, and quantification of soluble
phenolic content; total antioxidant capacity using
Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) reagent;
Quality parameters
and vitamin C were analyzed following Falagán et al.
Five nectarine wedges from each tray were homoge- (2015). Soluble phenolic content was expressed as mg of
nized, and the juice obtained was used for measuring gallic acid equivalents per kg fresh weight (mg GAE
the SSC, pH, and TA, as described in Silveira et al. kg1 f.w.). Total antioxidant capacity results were
(2013). Pulp color was measured with a tristimulus expressed as mg of ascorbic acid equivalent per kg f.w.
colorimeter: Minolta Chroma Meter CIE 1976 (model (mg AsAE kg1 f.w.). Finally, ascorbic acid (AsA) con-
CR-200, Minolta Corp., Ramsey, NJ) as described in tent was expressed as mg AsA per kg f.w., dehydroas-
Vallverdú et al. (2012). Ten cut pieces per replicate were corbic acid (DHA) as mg of DHA per kg f.w., and total
used. A puncture test was used to evaluate nectarine vitamin C as mg of total vit. C per kg f.w.
piece firmness, based on the resistance of each PPO (EC 1.14.18.1) measurements were carried out
piece to pressure applied by a texturometer (LFRA as according to Falagán et al. (2015). In this case, one
1500 Texture Analyzer, BrookField, Engineering unit of PPO activity was defined as the amount of
Laboratories, USA). At each sampling day, the firm- enzyme that caused an increase of one absorbance
ness of 10 pieces per tray was monitored and expressed unit in 1 min at 400 nm (" ¼ 3450 M1 cm1). The con-
in Newton (N; Silveira et al., 2013). tent of protein was determined according to the method
described in Falagán et al. (2015), using bovine serum
albumin as the standard.
Sensory evaluation
All quality and biochemical determination were eval-
A descriptive sensory analysis was carried out by a uated on days 0 (processing day), 4, and 8 of shelf-life
trained seven-person panel (aged 24–40) in a room at using three biological repetitions (trays) per treatment.
20  C under controlled conditions. Before performing
the testing session, the panelists agreed on the attributes
Statistical analysis
that better described sensory changes. At each
evaluation, the panelists tested all the samples which The interaction between quality, treatment, and time of
were presented in a randomized order. Water was pro- storage was studied by conducting a bifactorial analysis
vided for palate cleansing. The panelists evaluated the of variance using the Statgraphics Centurion (version
intensity of dehydration, off-odors, and browning by XV.II) software (StatPoint, Inc., USA) for each
using a nine-point scale of damage incidence and sever- response at a significance level of P < 0.05. Principal
ity. Flavor, texture, and overall quality were evaluated component analysis (PCA) was used to examine the
by using a nine-point scale as described in Calı́n- relationship among responses and samples at different
Sánchez et al. (2013). days. The biplot was obtained by overlapping the score
and loading plots (Wold et al., 1987). Venn diagrams
were created using the JMP software package version
Microbial analysis
10.0.0 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC).
To determine microbial growth (psychrophilic bacteria,
molds, and yeasts), 10 g of FC nectarines were collected RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
from trays and homogenized for 1 min in 90 ml of
Effects on physical and sensory quality
sterile peptone-buffered water (Scharlau, Barcelona,
Spain) in a sterile stomacher bag (Colorworth No significant effects (P < 0.05) of the dipping treat-
Stomacher 400, Steward Laboratory, London, UK). ments on SSC, pH, or TA values were found. Time
The presence of pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli, was the factor that most affected these parameters,
Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp.) was also inducing a decrease in SSC and TA content, while
determined and evaluated according to Regulation EC increasing the pH (Table 1). Color was measured by
(2007). Serial dilutions were prepared in the same pep- evaluating L* and  h values (Table 1). Samples treated
tone solution. Agar medium and incubation conditions with AsA obtained higher L* values than control ones.
were performed in triplicate as described in Tarazona- With storage time, treated nectarines had more stable
Dı́az and Aguayo (2013). Microbial counts were L* values, while control wedges showed a decrease,
reported as log10 colony forming units per g of exhibiting a browner cut surface. Statistically, both dip-
sample (log cfu g1). ping treatment and time factors as well as their

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Table 1. Soluble solids content (SSC) expressed as  Brix, pH, and titratable acidity (TA) expressed as g citric acid
100 ml1, along with color measurements: lightness (L*) and Hue angle ( h) of fresh-cut VioWhite 5 nectarines stored up
to eight days at 5  C

Sample SSC pH TA L* h

Day 0
Control 10.40a  0.20 2.99a  0.02 1.12a  0.02 86.14b  0.40 102.50b  0.62
AB 9.65  0.04 3.03  0.03 1.13  0.02 97.29  1.14 115.61  9.97
ABþVanillin 10.10  0.01 3.00  0.01 1.17  0.02 99.11  0.04 114.00  0.29
ABþCinnamic 10.10  0.08 2.99  0.03 1.21  0.03 98.44  0.90 111.35  4.78
Day 4
Control 9.60  0.01 3.15  0.01 1.02  0.02 78.30  0.17 93.78  8.56
AB 9.25  0.04 3.15  0.01 0.99  0.01 94.06  0.30 116.84  1.15
ABþVanillin 9.35  0.12 3.13  0.01 1.08  0.02 95.84  0.15 112.86  2.60
ABþCinnamic 9.45  0.04 3.14  0.01 1.02  0.03 94.40  0.54 111.92  5.52
Day 8
Control 9.40  0.01 3.35  0.04 1.04  0.02 69.96  0.38 81.37  2.27
AB 9.33  0.03 3.35  0.04 1.00  0.04 94.85  0.44 109.84  1.15
ABþVanillin 9.15  0.04 3.29  0.03 1.01  0.01 95.82  0.22 108.86  2.60
ABþCinnamic 9.15  0.04 3.33  0.01 1.02  0.01 95.88  0.33 109.92  0.15
a
Means of three replicates (n ¼ 3  SE).
b
Means of three replicates (n ¼ 10  SE).
AB: antibrowning treatment based on 6% calcium L-ascorbate.

interaction influenced changes in L* (Table 1). The combination of ABþVanillin and

Similarly, and as expected, control samples showed ABþCinnamic allowed for the maintenance of firmness
lower  h values than those treated with the AB agent. of the nectarine wedges as compared to control and AB
Just as with the L* values, the  h values decreased as agent-treated wedges (Figure 2). In fact, a more pro-
browning increased. We can conclude, then, that L* nounced decrease in firmness was observed in control
and  h were more efficiently preserved in AB treatments and AB-only pieces (nearly 30% of softening). Dipping
than control ones. These findings agree with those treatment, time, and their interaction significantly
reported for mature green apples slices dipped in AsA affected firmness values. This was also observed on
(Aguayo et al., 2010). apple slices when combining AsA with vanilla extract
In order to examine the relationship among (Rupasinghe et al., 2006), with the combination con-
responses and the different experiments, a PCA was sidered to be a good softening control agent. The day
performed, as it reduces the dimensionality of the 0 PCA results also revealed that samples treated with
data and simplifies their interpretation. Figure 1 the AB agent, ABþVanillin, and ABþCinnamic highly
shows the biplot (scores and loadings) of PCA. This correlated with the responses on the right side of the
biplot illustrates 75.39% of the variability of the ori- biplot, for example firmness.
ginal data (the sum of variance of PC1 and PC2). On initial evaluation, the descriptor that showed the
Through PCA, a negative correlation between pH greatest sensory quality differences (P < 0.05) was
versus TA, and between  h versus SSC was found visual appearance, followed by browning, both having
(Figure 1). SSC, which is mainly composed of water- a negative correlation (r2 ¼ 0.91). Visual appearance
soluble sugars, as well as acids, vitamins, and minerals scores decreased in control samples but remained
(Gang et al., 2014), and pH changes depended only on basically unchanged in the other treatments during
the factor ‘‘time.’’ The reduction of SSC observed storage, especially the ones that had vanillin and
during the shelf-life period was very likely due to the trans-cinnamic acid added as additives. The browning
consumption of sugars and organic acid as respiratory pulp scores of control samples decreased with time of
substrates in fruit ripening processes, which changes the storage but AB-treated wedges did not show this
glucose/fructose ratio (Javanmardi and Kubota, 2006). decrease. Neither vanillin nor trans-cinnamic acid
Similarly, TA decreased with time, whereas pH flavors imparted any additional aromas or off-flavors
increased as a sign of senescence, during the consump- to nectarines at the concentrations applied. In the case
tion of acids as respiratory substrates. of trans-cinnamic acid, the panelists considered that the

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 Falagán et al.

Biplot of X
0.3
Experiment day 0

Experiment day 4

Experiment day 8
0.2
Responses

°h
AB
pH
0.1 AB AB
AB+Cinnamic
AB+Vanillin AB
AB
AB AB+Cinnamic Total antioxidant capacity
AB+Vanillin L*
Appearance
PC2 (17.5%)

AB+Cinnamic
AB+Cinnamic Browning
AB+Cinnamic AsA
AB+Cinnamic Soluble phenolic content
0 AB
Control AB+Vanillin Firmness Vitamin C
Control Control PPO AB+Vanillin AB
Control AB+Vanillin DHA AB
Control Control Texture
AB+Vanillin AB+Cinnamic
AB+Vanillin AB+Vanillin
–0.1 Control Control AB+Cinnamic AB+Cinnamic
Control SSC
TA

–0.2

–0.3
–0.4 –0.3 –0.2 –0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3
PC1 (57.88%)

Figure 1. Principal component analysis (PCA): biplot of X (PC1 (17.51%) and PC2 (57.88%) after analysis of effects of
treatment and storage time on quality evaluation attributes and bioactive compounds for fresh-cut VioWhite 5 nectarine
stored up to eight days at 5  C. AsA: ascorbic acid; DHA: dehydroascorbic acid;  h: Hue angle; L*: lightness;
PPO: polyphenol oxidase; SSC: soluble solids content; soluble phenolic content; TA: titratable acidity; total antioxidant
capacity.

taste of the nectarines was not affected by the applica- treatment during the shelf-life period. Mold and
tion of this compound, in agreement with other studies yeast growth was higher in control and AB-treated
on FC fruits (Muche and Rupasinghe, 2011). In the samples, increasing with storage time while wedges
current study, trans-cinnamic acid obtained better dipped in vanillin and trans-cinnamic acid solutions
scores than vanillin, which was considered second remained under 2 log cfu g1 during the shelf-life
best (Figure 3). Rojas-Graü et al. (2007) applied an period (Table 2). The same trend was observed in psy-
edible coating containing vanillin (0.3% w/w) to FC chrophilic bacteria, with a more pronounced growth in
apples, reaching the highest acceptance as compared samples not treated with antimicrobial solution, espe-
to other antimicrobials such as oregano essential oil. cially control ones (Table 2). The application of vanillin
Texture was influenced by dipping treatment and and trans-cinnamic acid inhibited the growth of psy-
time, as well as their interaction. Nectarine wedges trea- chrophilic bacteria, mold, and yeast. These results
ted with vanillin and trans-cinnamic acid had higher were in agreement with other authors, who had
texture scores as compared to control and AB agent- previously worked with FC products and vanillin
treated wedges and maintained it better during cold (Cerrutti and Alzamora, 1996; Rojas-Graü et al.,
storage (Figure 3). No dehydration was noticed by 2007; Rupasinghe et al., 2006; Silveira et al., 2015)
the panelists (data not shown). or cinnamon (Brasil et al., 2012; Sipahi et al.,
2013) reporting good antimicrobial effects for both
compounds. Some hypotheses have been reported
Effects on microbial counts
on the antimicrobial mechanism of vanillin and cin-
None of the three pathogens studied, E. coli, L. mono- namic acid. The aldehyde group present in vanillin
cytogenes, and Salmonella spp., were detected in any plays an important role in its antibacterial activity

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16

14

12

10
Firmness (N)

Control
AB
8
AB + Vanillin
AB + Cinnamic
6

0
0 4 8
Days at 5°C

Figure 2. Firmness of fresh-cut VioWhite 5 nectarines stored up to eight days at 5  C. Data represent means of 10
replicates (n ¼ 10  SE). AB: antibrowning treatment based on 6% calcium L-ascorbate.

(Marı́n et al., 2013), while the acidic character of poly- between them being r2 ¼ 0.92. Again, control wedges
phenols such as trans-cinnamic acid has been widely had less total antioxidant capacity than wedges from
demonstrated (Bisogno et al., 2007). Based on these treatments that contained the AB solution, with the
characteristics, Davidson et al. (2013) suggested three antimicrobial-containing AB solution being the one
hypotheses that could explain the antimicrobial effect that achieved the highest values. On the other hand,
when in contact with the microorganism: (a) the mem- there was a great difference in AsA content between
brane permeability increased, (b) a dissipation of the samples treated with AB solution and control samples
proton motive force occurred, or (c) adenosine triphos- during the whole experiment. The general trend was the
phate synthesis was inhibited. These kinds of natural decrease of this compound in all treatments when time
antimicrobials do not generally have interaction of storage was extended. This effect was more pro-
problems with other additives due to their low protein nounced in samples dipped in AB solution (Table 3).
and lipid content (Álvarez et al., 2014), as observed As for DHA content, a similar trend was observed,
when they were combined with an AB agent in this but at the end of the shelf-life period, no significant
work. The low pH found in the samples meant a differences were found (Table 3). Total vitamin C, as
higher acidity, which negatively affected microorganism the sum of AsA and DHA contents, showed a decreas-
growth, aiding with the antimicrobial effect of the ing trend, with the treatments immersed in AB being
solutions. This was also reported by Davidson et al. the ones with the highest values (Table 3). These
(2013) in several matrices. changes were the result of the influence of dipping
treatment, time, or their interaction (Figure 4 and
Table 3). The activity of PPO, an enzyme that affects
Effects on bioactive compounds
browning, is shown in Figure 5. Initially, control
The soluble phenolic content results as affected by wedges had a slightly higher PPO activity when
treatment, time, and their interaction are shown in compared with the rest of the treatments, but this
Table 3. AB-treated wedges had a significantly higher increased with time of storage, being especially
phenolic content when compared to the other treat- pronounced in control samples. The treatment that
ments, while control samples had the lowest. The soluble obtained the smallest changes was AB (from
phenolic content slightly decreased with time in all 0.15  0.03 to 0.22  0.03 U mg1 protein), followed
treatments, except for the control, which remained by the ABþVanillin and ABþCinnamic treatments.
low but quite stable. The results obtained for total anti- These changes were the result of the influence of type
oxidant capacity followed the same pattern as the sol- of dipping treatment, time of storage, and their inter-
uble phenolic content (Table 3), with the correlation action (Figure 4).

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 Falagán et al.

(a) Visual apperance

9 Control
AB
7 AB + Vanillin
AB + Cinnamic
5

3
Overall quality Browning
1

Texture Flavor

(b) Visual apperance

9

3
Overall quality Browning
1

Texture Flavor
(c) Visual apperance
9

3
Overall quality Browning
1

Texture Flavor

Figure 3. Descriptive sensory analysis of quality attributes of fresh-cut VioWhite 5 nectarines as affected by the different
treatments on the different evaluation days: A ¼ day 0, B ¼ day 4, and C ¼ day 8 at 5  C. AB: antibrowning treatment based
on 6% calcium L-ascorbate.

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Consumers consider nectarines a good commodity other fruits such as strawberries, apples, or oranges
because of their functional characteristics and high sen- (Rupasinghe and Clegg, 2007). In this regard, the appli-
sorial acceptance (Vallverdú et al., 2012). Nevertheless, cation of AsA as an AB solution increased total anti-
nectarines have a lower content of antioxidants than oxidant capacity by increasing vitamin C content,
obtaining a functionally improved FC product.
Samples began to lose some of these properties when
Table 2. Effect of dipping treatments on psychrophilic
storage time was extended (Figure 1). In fact, the
bacteria, mold, and yeast growth (log cfu g1) of fresh-cut
VioWhite 5 nectarines for eight days at 5  C increase of PPO activity led to a decrease of bioactive
compounds such as soluble phenolic content, total anti-
Sample Psychrophilic Molds Yeasts oxidant capacity, and vitamin C and a decrease in qual-
ity parameters such as visual appearance and firmness
Day 0
Control <1 2.23  0.30 <2 as well. PPO was most active on the control wedges on
days 4 and 8, increasing from day 0. This resulted in the
AB 2.00  0.28
development of browning in control samples. This oxi-
ABþVanillin <2
dative reaction was more noticeable in pulp because
ABþCinnamic <2
this tissue contains less pectins in the cell membranes
Day 4 as compared to the peel, where they act as thickeners
Control 3.10  0.10 3.03  0.14 2.87  0.28 and protectors (Liaotrakoon et al., 2013). The appear-
AB 2.05  0.18 2.86  0.22 3.69  0.24 ance of browning was due to the breakdown of cells,
ABþVanillin <1 <2 <2 which brought into contact polyphenols and oxygen
ABþCinnamic <1 <2 <2 with PPO (Mishra et al., 2012). The increase of PPO
activity through phenolic oxidation implied a reduction
Day 8
Control 5.33  0.16 6.57  0.21 5.12  0.03 of soluble phenolic content and therefore of total anti-
oxidant capacity, as soluble phenolics are responsible
AB 3.82  0.10 4.22  0.11 4.52  0.38
for the total antioxidant capacity in plant tissues (Arion
ABþVanillin <1 <2 <2
et al., 2014). Vitamin C also has an antioxidant activity
ABþCinnamic <1 <2 <2
either as AsA or DHA, its oxidized form. Once again,
Means of three replicates (n ¼ 3  SE). AB: antibrowning treatment nectarines treated with AB solution or AB solution
based on 6% calcium L-ascorbate. combined with antimicrobials showed higher

Table 3. Concentration of bioactive compounds of fresh-cut VioWhite 5 nectarines stored up to eight days at 5  C.
Soluble phenolic content expressed as mg GAE kg1 f.w., total antioxidant capacity expressed as mg AsAE kg1 f.w.,
ascorbic acid content (AsA) as mg AsA kg1 f.w., dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) as mg DHA kg1 f.w., and total vitamin C
expressed as the sum of AsA and DHA

Soluble phenolic Total antioxidant

Sample content capacity AsA DHA Vitamin C

Day 0
Control 680.9  7.4 77.2  21.8 90.7  3.5 80.2  0.6 170.9  1.2
AB 1209.7  66.6 145.9  17.0 360.5  9.3 401.1  5.0 761.7  1.1
ABþVanillin 940.1  21.4 979.9  26.5 357.6  1.9 304.3  1.3 661.9  2.1
ABþCinnamic 941.6  31.0 1050.6  48.3 330.4  8.0 271.2  9.1 601.6  1.3
Day 4
Control 587.8  7.0 667.8  18.2 60.0  0.7 90.1  1.0 150.1  3.8
AB 1148.7  29.0 1393.6  6.8 303.4  9.3 161.3  2.6 464.7  4.2
ABþVanillin 901.9  38.4 864.7  12.1 280.0  8.5 142.5  0.7 422.4  5.2
ABþCinnamic 848.4  21.1 922.1  31.8 286.1  18.8 161.2  1.3 447.4  3.0
Day 8
Control 423.1  6.3 658.2  17.3 64.8  0.6 51.2  0.2 116.0  3.2
AB 1100.4  55.1 1202.2  26.8 151.2  4.4 51.7  0.4 202.9  4.1
ABþVanillin 854.2  37.2 828.5  62.2 203.6  4.1 62.4  0.2 266.0  2.0
ABþCinnamic 873.2  52.9 835.4  50.6 211.4  2.5 73.4  1.0 284.7  1.1
Means of three replicates (n ¼ 3  SE). AB: antibrowning treatment based on 6% calcium L-ascorbate.

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 Falagán et al.

Treatment Time

TA
0 °h SSC
Total antioxidant pH
capacity

12

0 0

L*
Soluble phenolic
Content
0 Firmness
AsA
DHA
Vitamin C
PPO
Visual appearance
Interaction Flavor
Browning
Texture
Overall quality

Figure 4. Venn diagram showing the results of the two-way ANOVA (P < 0.05), expressing which factor (treatment,
storage time, and their interaction) affected the response evolution of fresh-cut VioWhite 5 nectarines stored up to eight
days at 5  C. AsA: ascorbic acid; DHA: dehydroascorbic acid;  h: hue angle; L*: lightness; PPO: polyphenol oxidase;
SSC: soluble solids content; soluble phenolic content; TA: titratable acidity; total antioxidant capacity.

1.4 content in all treatments during shelf-life was due as a

Control
AB result of ripening and senescence (Gautier et al., 2008).
1.2 AB+Vanillin
AB+Cinnamic
1.0 CONCLUSIONS
U/mg protein

0.8 The application of an antibrowning treatment com-

0.6
bined with natural antimicrobial agents on FC
VioWhite 5 nectarines resulted in a high-quality prod-
0.4 uct. The treatment solutions helped maintain firmness
and improved sensorial parameters as compared to
0.2
control samples. Antimicrobial solutions were able to
0.0 inhibit microbiological growth (psychrophilic bacteria,
0 4 8
Days at 5 °C
mold, and yeast loads) during the shelf-life period. The
application of AsA led to an increase of vitamin C con-
tent and therefore total antioxidant capacity was also
Figure 5. PPO activity of fresh-cut VioWhite 5 nectarines enhanced and retained during shelf-life when compared
stored up to eight days at 5  C after treatment with different
with control samples. These treatments responded to
natural solutions, expressed as U/mg protein. Data repre-
sent means of three replicates (n ¼ 3  SE). AB:
the consumer’s demand for high-quality FC products,
antibrowning treatment based on 6% calcium L-ascorbate. by obtaining a commodity that was fresh, ready to eat,
and functionally improved thanks to the use of natural
additives.

concentrations of vitamin C in all its forms. This DECLARATION OF CONFLICTING INTERESTS

demonstrated that nectarine wedges were not only The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
able to assimilate AsA but also to retain it during the respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
shelf-life period. The observed decrease of vitamin C article.

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Food Science and Technology International 0(0)

FUNDING Carocho M and Ferreira IC. (2013). A review on antioxi-

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup- dants, prooxidants and related controversy: Natural and
port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this synthetic compounds, screening and analysis methodolo-
article: Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness-FEDER gies and future perspectives. Food and Chemical
for financial support (project AGL2010-19201-C04-02-AGR) Toxicology 51: 15–25.
and concession of a pre-doctoral grant to N. Falagán. Cava-Roda RM, Taboada-Rodrı́guez A, Valverde-Franco
MT and Marı́n-Iniesta F. (2012). Antimicrobial activity
of vanillin and mixtures with cinnamon and clove essential
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