Changes in ascorbic acid content of fresh apricot fruits under fungal pathogenesis

Abstract

The degradation of ascorbic acid content of fresh apricot fruits infected with Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus japonicus, A. niger and Penicillium citrinum was studied. The experimental results revealed that there was decrease in vitamin C content of both healthy and infected fruits with an increase in incubation period. Fruits infected with R. stolonifer, A. japonicus, A. niger and P. citrinum had lost Vitamin C by 85%± 4.08, 78.3%± 2.36, 60%± 4.08 and 34.97%± 4.08 respectively after 6 days of pathogenesis whereas the healthy fruits still had 90%± 0.19 of vitamin C after same period of incubation. The degradation of ascorbic acid was more in infected fruits in comparison to healthy fruits and this may be either due to the production of ascorbic acid degrading enzymes or due to increased respiration rate which may induce rapid oxidation of ascorbic acid in the fruit tissue.