Abstract: Peanut is an important oilseed crop, susceptible to quality deterioration under harsh storage conditions because of its high oil content. In order to explore the effects of different storage temperatures on peanut quality under normal humidity conditions, in-shell peanuts were stored at 15, 25 or 35 ℃ for up to 30 weeks. Indicators of lipid oxidation: acid value (AV), peroxide value (PV), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content; indicators of protein oxidation: carbonyl, sulfhydryl, disulfide bond contents; and the activities of oxidation-related enzymes: lipase (LPS), lipoxygenase (LOX) and peroxidase (POD) were tested. The results showed that the AV increased from (0.48 ± 0.01) to (1.78 ± 0.02) mg/g and the carbonyl content from (3.19 ± 0.24) to (118.61 ± 6.41) μmol/g over the storage period at 25 ℃. Meanwhile, at the end of storage, the highest lipase and lipoxygenase activities were observed in the sample stored at 35 ℃, which were (59.00 ± 1.70) and (1 287.17 ± 98.45) U/g, respectively; the AV increased from (0.48 ± 0.01) to (3.15 ± 0.10) mg/g, the MDA content from 23.03 to 1 039.63 nmol/g, and the carbonyl content from (3.19 ± 0.24) to (124.86 ± 3.07) μmol/g. At 15 ℃, the highest lipase and lipoxygenase activities were only (41.60 ± 1.23) and (1 036.14 ± 34.49) U/g, respectively and the peroxide and carbonyl contents increased by 18.4 and 17.1 times after 30 days of storage, respectively, reaching much lower levels than those at the other temperatures. In conclusion, storage at normal humidity and at 15 ℃ can effectively suppress the oxidase activity at a low level at all time points, resulting in a low degree of oxidation of peanut oil and protein, while high ambient temperature increases the oxidase activity, and the higher the temperature, the higher the enzyme activity, and the higher the contents of primary and secondary oxidation products in oil, indicating a higher degree of peroxidation. Moreover, protein oxidation also occurs due to the oxidation of amino acid side chains and protein structural damage, ultimately leading to a decline in peanut quality.

Key words: peanut storage; lipid oxidation; protein oxidation; oxidation-related enzymes; quality degradation