Cold shock treatment alleviates pitting in sweet cherry fruit by enhancing antioxidant enzymes activity and regulating membrane lipid metabolism

Abstract BACKGROUND In order to comprehend the regulatory mechanisms that result in the alleviation of sweet cherry pitting disorder through cold shock (0 °C ice–water mixture for 10 min), an investigation was conducted into the impacts of cold shock treatment (CST) on membrane lipid metabolism, antioxidant enzyme activity, as well as pitting of cold‐stored sweet cherry fruit. RESULTS CST significantly inhibited the increase in pitting incidence, pitting index, and decay incidence. The CST treatment provided greater titratable acidity, firmness as well as total content of soluble solids. The use of CST prevented the build‐up of superoxide anions, hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde, and reduced permeability of cell membranes. When in contrast to control group, the CST also raised the expression levels along with activity of the antioxidant enzymes ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). Furthermore, CST reduced the amount of fruit cell membrane peroxidation, suppressed the activity of phospholipase and lipoxygenase, postponed the rise in saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and decrease in unsaturated fatty acids (USFAs), ultimately keeping a high ratio of USFAs to SFAs. CONCLUSION CST can alleviating pitting disorder in sweet cherry fruit via preventing peroxidation of membrane lipid and elevating the antioxidant enzymes activity. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.