The membrane may be an important factor in browning of fresh-cut pear

Surface browning is an important cause of deterioration of fresh-cut fruit during postharvest handling. In this paper, four pear cultivars with different extents of natural browning were selected to analyse the factors involved in browning. The main results are as follows: the lipoxygenase (LOX) activity of 'Mantianhong' and 'Yali' pears was higher accompanied by a stronger degree of browning, while the LOX activity in 'Xueqing' and 'Xinli 7' pears was lower, with less browning. A higher unsaturated fatty acid ratio of pear resulted in reduced browning. The cell membranes disappeared 30 min after being cut in 'Mantianhong' pear, which browns easily; however, the cell membranes were still intact 30 min after being cut in 'Xueqing' pear, which does not brown easily. Therefore, it can be assumed that the stability of the cell membrane plays an important role in inhibiting browning of fresh-cut pears.