Abstract:

Postharvest Chinese water chestnuts were exposed to 0, 0.1%, 0.5% or 1.0% acetaldehyde vapor for 4 h in a wellsealed container and, thereafter, stored in a cool, dry and ventilative place for 2 days. Following being peeled and sliced, the resulted Chinese water chestnut slices were stored in a plastic container covered with fresh-keeping film at ambient temperature (12 ℃) and were evaluated for color, nutrients and weight loss at intervals of 2 days. Results showed that acetaldehyde treatment at 0.1%, 0.5% or 1.0% levels resulted in an effective delay of browning and a significant reduction of water loss in fresh-cut Chinese water chestnuts. The best browning-delaying effect was seen in 0.5% acetaldehyde-treated group, and 0.1% acetaldehyde treatment significantly increased the soluble solids content and decreased the titratable acidity. However, the degradation of reduced ascorbic acid was accelerated due to acetaldehyde treatment.

Key words: fresh-cut Chinese water chestnut, acetaldehyde treatment, quality, browning