Publications by authors named "Pedro Javier Zapata"

Tomato fruit ( L.) has a very brief storability, displaying chilling injury (CI) when stored in cold conditions used to delay ripening. For this reason, in this study, different concentrations (10, 50, and 100 mg L) of chlorogenic acid (ChA) were assayed to evaluate its effectiveness in maintaining fruit quality traits and mitigating CI symptoms in tomatoes.

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In the northern hemisphere countries, artichoke harvest occurs in winter months; consequently, they are exposed to cold temperatures. This can lead to frost injury, such as triggering the blistering of the cuticle and detachment of outer bracts, which eventually could display brown or black discolouration. This can cause major economic and production losses.

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Flower head orders and the use of GA (gibberellic acid) treatment could be two influencing factors determining the bioactive compound levels in artichoke, but little to no information is available about their effects. In this study, we have therefore evaluated the influence of these factors on the hydroxycinnamic acid and luteolin derivative levels in three categories of artichoke: Seed-propagated open-pollinated cultivars; vegetatively propagated cultivars; and seed-propagated hybrids. The hydroxycinnamic acids and luteolin derivatives were quantified by RP-HPLC-DAD.

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Consumers demand the use of eco-friendly fungicides to treat fruit and vegetables and governmental authorities have unauthorized the application of chemical antifungals for the efficient control of sour rot. In the present research, the microwave irradiation (MW) method was used to encapsulate thymol into 2-hydroxylpropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and the effect of these HP-β-CD on controlling sour rot in citrus fruit, caused by , was evaluated. Amounts of 25 and 50 mM of HP-β-CD-thymol were used, and compared with propiconazole, to control the decay of inoculated lemon fruit.

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Geotrichum citri-aurantii causes sour rot in citrus fruits and is responsible for important economic losses during storage. However, the availability of chemical fungicides for the control of this pathogen is limited. Thus, the aim of this research was to evaluate the antifungal efficacy of thymol and carvacrol encapsulated in 2-hydroxylpropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) (prepared by the microwave irradiation method [MW] and solubility method [S]) for inhibition of G.

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The effects of methyl jasmonate (MeJa) treatment as an elicitor of artichoke plants [Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus (L.) Fiori] on the yield and quality attributes of artichokes, especially those related to individual phenolic content and antioxidant activity, at two harvest dates and along storage were analyzed in this research.

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In this study the effect of oxalic acid (OA) treatment of artichoke plants (Cynara scolymus L.) on head artichoke development and on artichokes quality parameters (weight loss, firmness, and color), respiration rate, antioxidant activity and phenolics (measured by Folin Ciocalteu and HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS) at harvest and during storage for 21days at 2°C was evaluated. OA treatment increased the percentage of the first class artichokes although no significant effect was found in artichoke developmental process.

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Background: Demand for broccoli has increased due to its high content of bioactive compounds. However, broccoli is a perishable commodity with a short shelf life mainly due to dehydration, yellowing and losses of bioactive compounds. Thus, efficient treatments to preserve broccoli quality are needed.

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Sweet cherry cultivars ('Cristalina' and 'Prime Giant') harvested at commercial ripening stage were treated with salicylic acid (SA), acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) or oxalic acid (OA) at 1 mM and then stored for 20 days under cold temperature. Results showed that all treatments delayed the postharvest ripening process, manifested by lower acidity, color changes and firmness losses, and maintained quality attributes for longer periods than controls. In addition, total phenolics, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity increased in untreated fruit during the first 10 days of storage and then decreased, while in fruits of all treatments, these parameters increased continuously during storage without significant differences among treatments.

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Eleven sweet cherry cultivars were harvested at three maturity stages (S1 to S3) based on skin color and stored at 2 degrees C for 16 days and a further period of 2 days at 20 degrees C (shelf life, SL) to analyze quality (color, total soluble solids, and total acidity) and bioactive compounds (total phenolics and anthocyanins) and their relationship to total antioxidant activity (TAA), determined in hydrophilic (H-TAA) or lipophilic (L-TAA) fraction. For all cultivars and maturity stages, the ripening process advanced during postharvest storage with increases in color intensity and decreases in acidity, as well as enhancements in phenolics, anthocyanins, and TAA in both H-TAA and L-TAA, although important differences existed among cultivars. The results showed that sweet cherry should be harvested at stage S3 (4 days later than the commercial harvest date) since after 16 days of cold storage + SL, the highest antioxidant capacity was achieved for both H-TAA and L-TAA.

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