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Pericarp browning is the major cause of deterioration of harvested litchi fruit. Water loss plays a role in pericarp browning of litchi fruit. This study investigated the effects of humidification with dry fog on pericarp browning and quality of litchi fruit stored at low temperature. Litchi fruit were stored in a non-humidified cold chamber (control) or in a humidified cold room using Tabor atomizer system that generated 95% relative humidity (RH) without depositing water on the fruit surface at 4°C. Control fruit stored in cold room without added humidity underwent rapid weight loss, accompanied by severe pericarp browning after 25 d of storage. However, slight weight loss and no obvious pericarp browning were found in humidified-fruit. Moreover, humidification maintained well the integrity of cell membrane and inhibited polyphenol oxidase activity during early storage. In addition, respiration rate was obviously inhibited in humidified-fruit compared with control fruit. This study might provide a convenient approach to reduce pericarp browning of harvested litchi fruit by humidifying the fruit using the Tabor atomizer at low temperature instead of packaging with film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Okra were stored for 19 days at 25 °C and nuclear magnetic resonnance spectroscopy was used to monitor the changes of metabolite levels. Seventeen metabolites were identified and their relative levels were analysed by principal component analysis. The first principal components were isoleucine, fatty acids, γ-aminobutyrate, glutamine, asparagine, unsaturated lipids, choline, phosphocholine and cinnamic acid. Decreases of glucose and sucrose levels were responsible for the quality reduction. Accumulation of cinnamic acid was involved in the lignification of okra tissue in the late storage period. Amino acids and γ-aminobutyrate levels increased during storage, which indicated the degradation of proteins. Increased electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll loss were also observed. The results indicated that NMR technique could be a good choice for metabolomic analysis of okra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]