Methyl jasmonate treatments reduce chilling injury and activate the defense response of guava fruits

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications Vol. 313; no. 3; pp. 694 - 701
• Main Authors: González-Aguilar, G.A, Tiznado-Hernández, M.E, Zavaleta-Gatica, R, Martı́nez-Téllez, M.A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 16.01.2004
• Subjects: Acetates - pharmacology; Ascorbic Acid - metabolism; Carbohydrate Metabolism; Chilling injury; Chlorophyll - metabolism; Cyclopentanes - pharmacology; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fructose - metabolism; Glucose - metabolism; Guava fruit; Ions; Lipoxygenase - metabolism; Lipoxygenase fruit defense response; Methyl jasmonate; Oxylipins; Phenols; Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase; Psidium - metabolism; Psidium guajava; Sucrose - metabolism; Temperature; Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase; Lipoxygenase fruit defense response; Guava fruit; Psidium guajava; Methyl jasmonate; Chilling injury
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2003.11.165

Tropical fruits cannot be stored at low temperatures due to the chilling injury phenomena. With the goal of reducing the chilling injury, we tested 10 −4 and 10 −5 M of methyl jasmonate (MJ) treatment before the storage of red and white cultivars of guava fruits at 5 °C for up to 15 days plus two days at 20 °C. Every five days, we evaluated chilling injury index, ion leakage percentage, vitamin C, sugars, total phenols, and the activity of the enzymes lipoxygenase (LOX) and phenylalanine-ammonia lyase (PAL). We found that methyl jasmonate treatments reduce the chilling injury index and the ion leakage percentage. Furthermore, MJ did not affect vitamin C, chlorophyll, and total phenols. MJ increased sugar content, PAL, and LOX activities. We concluded that MJ reduces chilling injury and activates the fruit defense response as indicated by the behavior of total phenols and the increase in sugar content, PAL, and LOX activities.