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. 2024 Jun 13:15:1428394.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1428394. eCollection 2024.

Effects of slightly acidic electrolyzed water on the quality and antioxidant capacity of fresh red waxy corn during postharvest cold storage

Chunfang Wang #  1 , Hongru Liu #  1 , Chenxia Liu  1 , Yuzhen Wei  2 , Juanzi Wang  3 , Yi Zhang  1 , Xiao Wang  1 , Bingjie Chen  1 , Weiqiang Yan  4 , Yongjin Qiao  1
Affiliations

Effects of slightly acidic electrolyzed water on the quality and antioxidant capacity of fresh red waxy corn during postharvest cold storage

Chunfang Wang et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

Fresh red waxy corn is consumed worldwide because of its unique flavor and rich nutrients, but it is susceptible to deterioration with a short shelf life. This study explored the effect of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) treatment on the quality and antioxidant capacity of fresh red waxy corn during postharvest cold storage up to 40 d. The SAEW treatment exhibited lower weight loss, softer firmness, and higher total soluble solids (TSS) and moisture content than the control group. Correspondingly, the SAEW maintained the microstructure of endosperm cell wall and starch granules of fresh red waxy corn kernels well, contributing to good sensory quality. Furthermore, SAEW effectively reduced the accumulation of H2O2 content, elevated the O2 -· scavenging ability, maintained higher CAT and APX activities, and decreased the decline of the flavonoids and anthocyanin during the storage. These results revealed that the SAEW treatment could be a promising preservation method to maintain higher-quality attributes and the antioxidant capacity of fresh red waxy corn during postharvest cold storage.

Keywords: antioxidant enzymes; cold storage; fresh red waxy corn; nutrition properties; slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW).

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Conflict of interest statement

Author WY was employed by the company Shanghai Shuneng Irradiation Technology Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes of weight loss in control and SAEW-treated fresh red waxy corn during cold storage. Values are the means ± standard error (SE) (n = 3). Note: The asterisks at a particular storage time indicating significant difference between control and SAEW-treated samples (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes of firmness in control and SAEW-treated fresh red waxy corn during cold storage. Values are the means ± SE (n = 6). Note: The asterisks at a particular storage time indicate significant difference between control and SAEW-treated samples (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scanning electron micrographs of control and SAEW-treated fresh red waxy corn during cold storage. (A, samples at day 0; B, SAEW-treated samples at day 8; C, control samples at day 8; D, SAEW-treated samples at day 40; E, control samples at day 40; 1, ×200; 2, ×1,000.).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Changes of flavonoids (A) and anthocyanin (B) content in control and SAEW-treated fresh red waxy corn during cold storage. Values are the means ± SE (n = 3). Note: The asterisks at a particular storage time indicate significant difference between control and SAEW-treated samples (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Changes of H2O2 content (A), O2 −· scavenging ability (B), CAT activity (C), and APX activity (D) in control and SAEW-treated fresh red waxy corn during cold storage. Values are the means ± SE (n = 3). Note: The asterisks at a particular storage time indicate significant difference between control and SAEW-treated samples (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Principal component analysis score and loading plot assessing the variance of control and SAEW-treated fresh red waxy corn during cold storage.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The correlation analysis of different index of both groups during the storage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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