Quality Parameters and Bioactive Compounds of Red Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cv Roma VF at Different Postharvest Conditions

Abstract

<p>Tomato is one of the most important crops at worldwide; however, much of the production is lost during the postharvest due to the inadequate storage conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different postharvest conditions on some quality and bioactive parameters of tomatoes. Tomatoes Roma VF variety were stored at three temperature (7, 22, and 37 °C) to evaluate some physicochemical characteristics (pH, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, color, and firmness) and bioactive compounds (vitamin C, lycopene, carotenoids, and antioxidant activity) during five days; time in which tomato change from physiological to edible maturity. The <em>a</em> color parameter increased significantly (p &lt; 0.05) at the storage temperature of 22 and 37 °C. The firmness was higher in tomato stored at 7 °C after 5 days, while at 37 °C the firmness decrease in 8%. Tomatoes stored at 22 °C showed a decrease of chlorophyll <em>a</em> and <em>b</em>, reaching the maximum lycopene (31.7 ± 1.5 mg/kg fresh weight) and carotenoids contents (118.7 ± 0.1 ?g/100 g fresh weight), while at 7 and 37 °C the chlorophyll <em>a</em> did not change during the storage. However, the vitamin C was higher in tomatoes stored at 7 and 37 °C. The antioxidant activity remains constant during the time of storage, regardless the temperature. The storage temperature of 22 °C not affected significantly (p &lt; 0.05) the color and firmness of tomatoes, at the same temperature, the bioactive compounds (carotenoid, vitamin C, and antioxidant activity) presented highly correlated with the developments of the red color.</p>