The Response of Carbohydrate Oxidation Enzymes to the Controlled Atmosphere Storage (CAS) of the Mango Fruits (Mangifera Indica L.) cv Kate

A controlled atmosphere (CA) is an agricultural storage method which can control the atmosphere around the fruit. It is an atmosphere in which oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen concentration as well as temperature and humidity are regulated. This system can reduce metabolic activity, control some pathogens and insects, and thus prolong the postharvest life of the fruit. Glycolysis is the basis of both anaerobic respiration and aerobic respiration, which occurs in nearly all organisms. Three enzymes regulate glycolysis by catalyzing nonequilibrium reactions: hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, and pyruvate kinase. The pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) is a process that generates NADPH and pentoses (5-carbon sugars). In this work we studied the changing of the activities of phosphofructokinase (PFK) and Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and fruit quality of mango stored under the controlled atmosphere CA at 20°C. This study was carried out on mango fruits (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Keitt. The storage of fruits under the CA retarded ripening and did not affect the quality attributes of Keitt mango. There was a significant decreasing in the activities of PFK and G6PDH as compared with control under controlled atmosphere storage (CAS) used in this work. These results indicate a potential for the application of CA for postharvest ripening control of mango. The optimal CA for long-term storage of "Keitt" mango at 20 °C is (6% O2 + 9% CO2+ 85% N2); under these conditions the storage life of mango can be extended up to 11 days.