Beneficial Effects of Pleurotus citrinopileatus Polysaccharide on the Quality of Cherry Tomatoes During Storage

Abstract

Cherry tomatoes are highly well-liked and have a lot of nutritional value. However, the edible value of cherry tomatoes rapidly declines as their storage duration is extended. Pleurotus citrinopileatus polysaccharide (PCP) is a kind of polysaccharide obtained from P. citrinopileatus by water extraction. The effects of PCP were investigated to identify a way to maximally postpone cherry tomato degradation. The results showed that PCP had inhibitory effects on all 10 tested strains, and the inhibitory effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the strongest. PCP could effectively reduce the weight loss rate and malondialdehyde accumulation of cherry tomatoes during storage, weaken the activity of polyphenol oxidase, and delay the decline of hardness, titratable acid content, and V_C content compared with untreated cherry tomatoes. PCP solution at a concentration of 2 g/L exerted the best preservation effects. Therefore, PCP can potentially contribute to the preservation of vegetables and fruits.

Introduction

Cherry tomatoes are immensely popular because of their distinct flavor and high nutritional content. Cherry tomatoes typically exhibit traits including changes in weight loss rate, hardness, titratable acid content, V_C content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity (Javanmardi and Kubota, 2006; Liu et al., 2010; Sammi and Masud, 2009). Finding a practical fresh-keeping technique to increase cherry tomatoes' shelf life is a pressing issue.

Polysaccharides are usually connected by >20 monosaccharide units with glycosidic bonds (Maji, 2019). In recent years, the main research areas of polysaccharides remain on their biological activities, including antioxidant, antitumor, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and immunomodulatory (Jiao et al., 2016; Mohammed et al., 2021). The antibacterial properties and preservation effects of many polysaccharides have been proven, such as the use of Pullulan polysaccharide in the preservation of strawberries (Niu et al., 2019). Polysaccharides will continue to be investigated in the future as substances with promise, and their use will grow in popularity.

Pleurotus citrinopileatus polysaccharide (PCP), a specific type of polysaccharide, is obtained from P. citrinopileatus using the water extraction method (Chen et al., 2016). PCP is mainly composed of glucose and galactose, as well as some xylose, mannose, and arabinose (He et al., 2016). PCP has been the subject of research into its biological activity and chemical makeup, but there are very few studies regarding its fresh-keeping properties (Wang et al., 2021).

Compared with synthetic preservatives, natural preservatives have the characteristics of safety and easy acceptance, and often have functions such as antioxidation and bacterial growth inhibition (Kourkoutas and Proestos, 2020; Martínez-Graciá et al., 2015). In this study, the effect of PCP on the key indicators of cherry tomatoes' quality and its bacteriostasis were extensively discussed.

Materials and Methods

Experimental materials

Fresh, ripe red, and uniform-size cherry tomatoes (variety: Qian Xi), purchased from a local farm (Shenyang, China), were selected as the test subjects. PCP (50% purity) was obtained from Shenqing Bio Co. Ltd. (Xian, China). Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea Pers, Penicillium expansum, and Alternaria brassicae were obtained from China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center. The PPO kit was purchased from Boster Ltd. (Wuhan, China). The other reagents were obtained from common commercial sources.

Antibacterial test

Selection and cultivation of strains

Five kinds of bacteria and five kinds of fungi that have a great impact on spoilage in cherry tomatoes were selected as the research objects.

The bacteria preserved at the inclined surface were picked using the inoculating loop, put into a 3 mL Brain Heart lnfusion medium (BHI) fluid medium, and then cultivated in the constant temperature oscillation incubator. Then, 100 μL activated bacterial solution was collected, evenly smeared on the nutrient agar plate medium with a coater, and cultured in a thermostatic incubator for use.

The types of microorganisms and the culture conditions are listed in Table 1.

Table 1.

Experimental Bacterial Strains

No.	Strain	Category	Culture conditions
1	Escherichia coli	Gram−	37℃, 12 h
2	Pseudomonas aeruginosa	Gram−	37℃, 12 h
3	Staphylococcus aureus	Gram+	37℃, 12 h
4	Bacillus subtilis	Gram+	37℃, 12 h
5	Bacillus cereus	Gram+	37℃, 12 h
6	Aspergillus flavus	Fungi	30℃, 48 h
7	Aspergillus niger	Fungi	30℃, 48 h
8	Botrytis cinerea Pers.	Fungi	30℃, 48 h
9	Penicillium expansum	Fungi	30℃, 48 h
10	Alternaria brassicae	Fungi	30℃, 48 h

Determination of inhibition zone by Oxford cup method

According to Zhang's research method (Zhang et al., 2022), the Oxford Cup method was used to determine the inhibition zone. The sterilized Oxford cup was placed vertically on the plate culture medium coated with the bacterial solution, and then, 200 μL of 0.5 g/L PCP solution, normal saline (as the negative control), 0.5 g/L streptomycin (as the positive control of bacteria), and 0.5 g/L nystatin (as the positive control of fungi), and bacteria were cultured at 37℃ for 12 h, and fungi were cultured at 30℃ for 48 h. Subsequently, the inhibition zone was measured with the data recorded. The data shown in Table 2 were calculated from the results of the three plates and were presented as the mean ± standard error (SE).

Table 2.

Antibacterial Activity of Pleurotus citrinopileatus Polysaccharide

No.	Strain	Inhibition zone diameter (mm)
No.	Strain	PCP	PC	NC
1	Escherichia coli	7.1 ± 0.2^*	9.6 ± 0.8	—
2	Pseudomonas aeruginosa	16.0 ± 1.6	15.9 ± 1.6	—
3	Staphylococcus aureus	8.1 ± 1.2^*	14.4 ± 1.6	—
4	Bacillus subtilis	9.8 ± 2.0^*	17.8 ± 1.0	—
5	Bacillus cereus	7.2 ± 0.5^*	11.8 ± 1.0	—
6	Aspergillus flavus	9.6 ± 4.0^*	12.1 ± 1.1	—
7	Aspergillus niger	9.1 ± 2.5	9.6 ± 0.9	—
8	Botrytis cinerea Pers.	7.1 ± 0.3^*	10.3 ± 1.2	—
9	Penicillium expansum	7.2 ± 0.8^*	9.7 ± 0.8	—
10	Alternaria brassicae	7.1 ± 1.1^*	10.2 ± 1.0	—

—No inhibition zone.

The inhibitory effect on the same bacteria, which is statistically different from the positive control (p < 0.05).

NC, negative control (normal saline); PC, 0.5 g/L positive control (streptomycin as positive control of bacteria and nystatin as positive control of fungi); PCP, 0.5 g/L Pleurotus citrinopileatus polysaccharide solution.

Determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations

The bacterial solution was diluted to 10⁵–10⁶ CFU/mL, then 100 μL bacterial suspension, 2 mL of different concentrations of PCP solutions, and 15 mL of BHI fluid medium were put together in a conical flask. Bacteria were cultured at 37℃ for 12 h, and fungi were cultured at 30℃ for 48 h. After that, 100 μL culture solution was harvested, the optical density (OD) value was measured at 517 nm, and the concentration of PCP solution was added in the culture solution with OD = 0 as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).

Fresh-keeping test

Treatment and storage condition

About 10 g PCP was dissolved in 500 mL distilled water to obtain 20 g/L of PCP solution. The concentrations used were 0.5, 1, 1.5, or 2 g/L. The prepared solutions of each concentration were transferred into different beakers. The solutions' concentrations and groups were labeled, with the first group (0 g/L) serving as the control group and the others serving as the treatment groups. The 150 cherry tomatoes selected according to the criteria mentioned in “Experimental materials” section were randomly assigned to a control group and four polysaccharide treatment groups. Each group contained 30 cherry tomatoes, respectively. The cherry tomatoes were soaked in the corresponding concentrations of PCP solutions for 3 min, and then taken out. The cherry tomatoes from each group were stored at room temperature for 4, 8, 12, and 16 days. On days 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 during the storage period, six cherry tomatoes were randomly selected from each group for determination. The determination of sample indicators was scheduled at 8:00 a.m. daily.

Determination of the weight loss rate and the hardness

After consulting relevant literature, we adopted the same method as Haile's research (Haile, 2018). First, the initial weight of five groups of cherry tomatoes was measured, that is, the weight when stored for 0 days. Then the weight of cherry tomatoes in the five groups was measured every 4 days (4, 8, 12, and 16 days) as the final weight of each stage. The formula is as follows: $w e i g h t l o s s r a t e (%) = \frac{i n i t i a l w e i g h t - f i n a l w e i g h t}{i n i t i a l w e i g h t} \times 100 %$

A GY-1 fruit hardness tester was used to measure the hardness of cherry tomatoes. The hardness tester was placed perpendicular to the surface of the cherry tomato to be tested, and the probe (section diameter 4 mm) was pressed into the cherry tomato evenly. When the probe was pressed to the scribed line (10 mm), pressing was stopped and the data were recorded at this time. Three positions were measured for each cherry tomato, and the results were averaged. Values were expressed in N.

Determination of the titratable acid content and the V_C content

An acid–base titration is an effective way to measure the content of titratable acid (TA) (Fan et al., 2022). The cherry tomatoes from the different groups were cut into small pieces and ground into juice. About 10 mL cherry tomato juice was added into the volumetric flask, and then distilled water was added to the volume to 100 mL. Then, 20 mL of prepared cherry tomato juice was added to the triangular flask. Taking phenolphthalein as an indicator, the sample was titrated to light pink with 0.1 mol/L NaOH solution, and the consumption of NaOH solution was recorded. Values were expressed in percentage (%).

The determination method of the vitamin C content mentioned in Sumalan's study was used in our study (Sumalan et al., 2020). About 10 mL cherry tomato juice was added into the volumetric flask, which was then added with 20 g/L oxalic acid to the volume of 100 mL. Then, 10 mL prepared cherry tomato juice was added into the triangular flask and titrated to reddish color with 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP) solution, and then the consumption of DCPIP solution was recorded. Values were expressed in mg/100 g.

Determination of the MDA content and the PPO activity

The determination method of the MDA content mentioned in Hu's study and Wu's study was used in this test (Hu et al., 2021; Wu et al., 2015). First, 1 g of cherry tomato juice was measured and added with 5 mL of 100 g/L trichloroacetic acid (TCA) solution. The mixed solution was centrifuged at 10,000 revolutions per minute at 4°C for 20 min, and the supernatant was collected. Two milliliters supernatant and 2 mL thiobarbituricacid (TBA) with a concentration of 0.67% were mixed to obtain the solution for the test group. Two milliliters of TCA solution and 2 mL TBA with a concentration of 0.67% were mixed to obtain the solution for the control group. The mixture was boiled in a water bath for 20 min and centrifuged again. After centrifugation, the absorbance values were measured at 450 nm, 532 nm and 600 nm wavelength. Values were expressed in μmol/g.

PPO activity was detected by the enzyme kit. Two hundred microliters cherry tomato juice was taken. The OD value was measured at 420 nm wavelength. The formula is as follows: $P P O a c t i v i t y (\frac{U}{m L}) = \frac{Δ A}{0.01} \times \frac{e x t r a c t i o n v o l u m e (m L) + j u i c e v o l u m e (m L)}{j u i c e v o l u m e (m L)} \times \frac{t o t a l v o l u m e (m L)}{s a m p l e v o l u m e (m L)} \times \frac{1 m L}{t o t a l v o l u m e (m L)} \div t i m e (m i n)$

Statistical analysis

All experiments were repeated 3 times at least. Data are presented as the mean ± SE. Statistics were analyzed with SPSS 22.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Differences between the groups were evaluated for significance by one-way analysis of variance. The graphs were processed with GraphPad Prism 5.0 (GraphPad Software, La Jolla, CA, USA). Statistical significance was considered as p < 0.05.

Results and Discussion

Antibacterial activity of PCP

Oxford cup method for determining the diameter of inhibition zone

Many polysaccharides have been proven to have antibacterial activity (Liu et al., 2020), and the same is true of PCP. Polysaccharides can exert antibacterial activity by disrupting the cell membrane and cell wall, affecting RNA transcription and protein synthesis, and mechanically impeding microbial invasion (Li et al., 2022). The Oxford Cup method was used to test the antibacterial activity of PCP and record the data, as given in Table 2. The results showed that PCP had inhibitory effects on 5 kinds of bacteria and 5 kinds of fungi, of which the inhibitory effect on P. aeruginosa was the strongest (the diameter of the inhibition zone was 16.0 ± 1.6 mm). The inhibitory effect of PCP on E. coli, B. cereus, Botrytis cinerea Pers., P. expansum, and A. brassicae was relatively weak (the diameters of the inhibition zone were 7.1 ± 0.2 mm, 7.2 ± 0.5 mm, 7.1 ± 0.3 mm, 7.2 ± 0.8 mm, and 7.1 ± 1.1 mm, respectively). Compared with positive control, the inhibitory effect of PCP on E. coli, S. aureus, B. subtilis, B. cereus, A. flavus, Botrytis cinerea Pers, P. expansum and A. brassicae was not enough (p < 0.05).

Determination of the MICs

As given in Table 3, the MIC of E. coli and B. cereus was the highest, which was 2 g/L. The MIC of B. subtilis, A. niger, Botrytis cinerea Pers, P. expansum, and A. brassicae was relatively low, all of which was 0.5 g/L. The MIC of P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and A. flavus was the lowest, all of which was 0.25 g/L. The results showed that the inhibition of PCP on the two strains E. coli and B. cereus was the weakest, and the inhibition of PCP on the three strains P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and A. flavus was the strongest.

Table 3.

The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of Pleurotus citrinopileatus Polysaccharide

No.	Strain	MIC/PCP concentration (g/L)
No.	Strain	2	1	0.5	0.25	0.125	0.0625
1	Escherichia coli	−	+	++	+++	+++	+++
2	Pseudomonas aeruginosa	−	−	−	−	+	++
3	Staphylococcus aureus	−	−	−	−	+	++
4	Bacillus subtilis	−	−	−	+	++	+++
5	Bacillus cereus	−	+	++	++	+++	+++
6	Aspergillus flavus	−	−	−	−	+	++
7	Aspergillus niger	−	−	−	+	++	+++
8	Botrytis cinerea Pers.	−	−	−	+	++	+++
9	Penicillium expansum	−	−	−	+	++	+++
10	Alternaria brassicae	−	−	−	+	++	+++

−, no bacteria growth; +, the growth of bacteria; MIC, minimum inhibitory concentrations; PCP, Pleurotus citrinopileatus polysaccharide solution.

Fresh-keeping effects of PCP

Effects of PCP on the weight loss rate and the hardness of cherry tomatoes

Owing to the existence of transpiration and respiration, the weight of cherry tomatoes will decline significantly during storage (Zhang et al., 2019), which is also an important sign of the decline in cherry tomato quality. As given in Figure 1A, with the extension of storage time, the weight loss rate of each group gradually increased. On the 4th day of the storage period, the weight loss rate of 1, 1.5, and 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment groups was significantly lower than that of the control group (p < 0.05). After 16 days of storage, the weight loss rate of the control group reached 5.29%, whereas the weight loss rate of the 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment group was only 4.10%, and the weight loss rate of the four polysaccharide treatment groups was significantly lower than the control group (p < 0.05).

FIG. 1.

(A) The effect of different concentrations of PCP solutions on the weight loss rate of cherry tomatoes. (B) The effect of different concentrations of PCP solutions on the hardness of cherry tomatoes. The color of the columns represents the concentration of the corresponding PCP solutions. Statistical difference between the two groups (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.005). Values are the average of three repeated determinations. The vertical bars represent the standard error. PCP, Pleurotus citrinopileatus polysaccharide.

The results showed that the use of PCP solutions could effectively reduce the weight loss rate of cherry tomatoes and help to maintain the quality of cherry tomatoes. In the research of Islam et al. (2018) on the application of trace elements to cherry tomato preservation, the same trend as the results of this experiment was shown.

Hardness is an important index to measure the ripeness and storage quality of cherry tomatoes (Kim et al., 2021). As given in Figure 1B, with the extension of storage time, the hardness of cherry tomatoes in each group decreased to different degrees. The decrease in cherry tomato hardness is often accompanied by surface shrinkage and rotten spots. After 16 days of storage, the hardness of the control group was only 2.44 N, whereas that of the 1.5 and 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment groups was as high as 7.78 and 8.02 N, respectively. The differences between the two treatment groups and the control group were significant (p < 0.05).

Besides, with the extension of storage time, only the 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment group could always maintain a significant difference (p < 0.05) from the control group, and other groups did not show a good ability to slow down the hardness decline in the first 8 days of storage period. However, from the perspective of the whole storage period, PCP still has the ability to slow down the decline of hardness. After comparison, it was found that the ability of PCP to maintain the hardness of cherry tomatoes is similar to that of OP (polysaccharides from Osmunda japonica Thunb) (Zhang et al., 2019).

Effects of PCP on the TA content and the V_C content of cherry tomatoes

The content of TA in cherry tomatoes has an important effect on their taste and storage (Lai et al., 2022). As given in Figure 2A, the TA content of each group gradually decreased with the extension of storage time. This decreasing trend is consistent with the study of Yeshiwas and Tolessa (2018) and Al-Dairi et al. (2021), but the decline rate is faster. From the 8th day to the 16th day of the storage period, the 1, 1.5, and 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment groups showed significant differences from the control group (p < 0.05). After 16 days of storage, the TA content of the control group decreased to 0.067%, whereas that of the 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment group only decreased to 0.346%. The results showed that the use of PCP solutions could effectively slow down the decline of TA content in cherry tomatoes.

FIG. 2.

(A) The effect of different concentrations of PCP solutions on the TA content of cherry tomatoes. (B) The effect of different concentrations of PCP solutions on the V_C content of cherry tomatoes. The color of the columns represents the concentration of the corresponding PCP solutions. Statistical difference between the two groups (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.005). Values are the average of three repeated determinations. The vertical bars represent the standard error. PCP, Pleurotus citrinopileatus polysaccharide; TA, titratable acid.

V_C, ascorbic acid, is one of the important vitamins contained in cherry tomatoes and one of the important vitamins in human nutrition. As given in Figure 2B, with the extension of storage time, the content of V_C in cherry tomatoes showed a trend of first rising and then falling, which was consistent with the study of Chen et al. (2023) and Xiang et al. (2021). The highest value of V_C content (5.29 mg/100 g) in the control group appeared around the 4th day of the storage period. The highest value of V_C content in 0.5, 1, and 1.5 g/L polysaccharide treatment groups appeared around the 8th day of the storage period, showing 5.26 mg/100 g, 5.83 mg/100 g, and 5.96 mg/100 g, respectively.

The highest value of V_C content (5.47 mg/100 g) in the 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment group appeared around the 12th day of the storage period. After 16 days of storage, the V_C content of the control group decreased by 1.65 mg/100 g, the V_C content of the 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment group increased by 0.62 mg/100 g, and the V_C content of the four polysaccharide treatment groups was significantly higher than that of the control group (p < 0.05). The results showed that the use of PCP solutions could effectively delay the decrease of V_C content in cherry tomatoes.

Effects of PCP on the MDA content and the PPO activity of cherry tomatoes

MDA is one of the products of cell membrane lipid peroxidation, and its accumulation will also aggravate the membrane damage, which is very detrimental to the preservation of cherry tomatoes (Li et al., 2022). As given in Figure 3A, with the extension of storage time, the content of MDA in cherry tomatoes increased significantly, and the four polysaccharide treatment groups showed good inhibition of MDA production from the 8th day of storage. In particular, the content of MDA in the 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment group was ∼4.58 μmol/g lower than that in the control group when stored for 16 days, only 3.52 μmol/g.

FIG. 3.

(A) The effect of different concentrations of PCP solutions on the MDA content of cherry tomatoes. (B) The effect of different concentrations of PCP solutions on the PPO activity of cherry tomatoes. The color of the columns represents the concentration of the corresponding PCP solutions. Statistical difference between the two groups (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.005). Values are the average of three repeated determinations. The vertical bars represent the standard error. MDA, malondialdehyde; PCP, Pleurotus citrinopileatus polysaccharide; PPO, polyphenol oxidase.

The results showed that the use of PCP solutions could effectively inhibit the production of MDA in cherry tomatoes. Compared with Zhang's research, it can be found that cherry tomatoes contain more MDA than ordinary tomatoes at the early and late stages of storage (Zhang et al., 2019). From the perspective of the growth rate of MDA content, the inhibition capacity of PCP and OP is very close.

The browning of fruits and vegetables during storage or processing is closely related to the oxidation of PPO, and this browning is often regarded as a sign of quality degradation (Lee and Watanabe, 2022; Ma et al., 2022). In the early stage of storage, the cell membranes of cherry tomato tissue cells were continuously disrupted, the phenolic content and the PPO activity increased. While during the gradual decline in the quality of cherry tomatoes, the phenolic content and the PPO activity decreased. In this experiment, with the extension of storage time, the oxidation reaction continued, and the PPO activity also showed a trend of rising first and then falling. As given in Figure 3B, the 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment group showed good ability to inhibit the activity of PPO from beginning to end (p < 0.05), whereas the other polysaccharide treatment groups showed average performance.

The preservation mechanism of PCP was investigated by combining the results of Olawuyi and Lee (2022) who applied polysaccharides from okra leafstalk wastes and Won et al. (2018) who applied grapefruit seed extract—chitosan to cherry tomatoes to preserve freshness. The preservation effects of PCP may be related to its good antibacterial effect and also to the dense coating film produced on the surface of cherry tomatoes. This coating film can prevent gas exchange between cherry tomatoes and the outside world, thus inhibiting respiration and oxidation, as well as reducing water vapor permeability and maintaining the weight and hardness of cherry tomatoes.

Conclusion

In this study, the inhibitory and fresh-keeping effects of PCP were confirmed. The results showed that PCP had the strongest inhibitory effect on P. aeruginosa, and could effectively reduce the weight loss rate and MDA accumulation of cherry tomatoes during storage, weaken the activity of PPO, and delay the decline of hardness, TA content, and V_C content. Compared with the other three polysaccharide treatment groups, the 2 g/L polysaccharide treatment group showed better antibacterial and fresh-keeping ability.

Footnotes

Authors' Contributions

A.S.: Fresh-keeping test methodology, data analysis, writing—original draft, modification. T.Z.: Antibacterial test methodology, data analysis, modification. S.L.: Anti-bacterial test methodology, data analysis, modification. X.Z.: Fresh-keeping test methodology, modification. M.X. and X.C.: Data analysis, modification. B.Z.: Modification. W.Y.: Funding acquisition, writing—original draft, data analysis, modification. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the article.

Disclosure Statement

The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.

Funding Information

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province (Grant Nos. 2018010874-301 and 2017225065), Shenyang Medical College Scientific research innovation fund (Grant Nos. 20182033 and 20191038), and National Students' innovation training project (Grant No. 201810164004).

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Beneficial Effects of Pleurotus citrinopileatus Polysaccharide on the Quality of Cherry Tomatoes During Storage

Abstract

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Experimental materials

Antibacterial test

Selection and cultivation of strains

Determination of inhibition zone by Oxford cup method

Determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations

Fresh-keeping test

Treatment and storage condition

Determination of the weight loss rate and the hardness

Determination of the titratable acid content and the VC content

Determination of the MDA content and the PPO activity

Statistical analysis

Results and Discussion

Antibacterial activity of PCP

Oxford cup method for determining the diameter of inhibition zone

Determination of the MICs

Fresh-keeping effects of PCP

Effects of PCP on the weight loss rate and the hardness of cherry tomatoes

Effects of PCP on the TA content and the VC content of cherry tomatoes

Effects of PCP on the MDA content and the PPO activity of cherry tomatoes

Conclusion

Footnotes

Authors' Contributions

Disclosure Statement

Funding Information

References

Determination of the titratable acid content and the V_C content

Effects of PCP on the TA content and the V_C content of cherry tomatoes