Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cold shock treatment on reducing chilling injury in coldstored eggplant and to explore its relationship with reactive oxygen species metabolism. Eggplants were pretreated with icewater mixture at 0 ℃ for 10, 20, 30 or 40 min before storage for 15 d at 4 ℃. The results showed that 20 min cold shock treatment could significantly reduce chilling injury index, delay flesh browning and mitigate chilling injury symptoms. Moreover, it could also augment the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), inhibit the production of superoxide anion radical (O2 ?·) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and maintain higher levels of total phenolic content and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capability and lower levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and cell membrane permeability. Proline and soluble sugar contents were increased after this treatment. Therefore, cold shock treatment could maintain the metabolic balance of reactive oxygen species and increase the contents of osmotic adjustment substances, thereby reducing membrane lipid peroxidation and maintaining cell membrane integrity and consequently delaying chilling injury onset.

Key words: eggplant, cold shock treatment, chilling injury, reactive oxygen species, browning