CaCl2 Retards Mechanical Damage Induced by Simulated-transport Vibration and Promotes Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) Quality during Storage

Transportation logistics are crucial for moving harvested produce from the field to the table. However, mechanical damage incurred during transport considerably contributes to mushroom spoilage during storage. This study revealed the results of spraying CaCl₂ on the appearance, reactive oxygen species (ROS), nutritional content, cell wall composition, and degradative enzymes of mushrooms in storage after a simulated vibration. The results indicated that exogenous CaCl₂ treatment effectively delayed mushroom browning and softening during storage following vibration stress and inhibited ROS accumulation by modulating antioxidant enzyme activities, and mitigated membrane lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, CaCl₂ inhibited cell wall-degrading enzyme activities to delay cell wall degradation. Moreover, CaCl₂ treatment enhanced the cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) and 4-coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL) activities and promoted total phenols and flavonoid synthesis, contributing to the recovery of mechanical damage caused by vibration. Additionally, TEM revealed that the cells in the control samples at the vibration sampling point were loosely organized, exhibiting marginally thicker cell walls in contrast to the CaCl₂-treated cells. This study highlights the potential of spraying CaCl₂ to alleviate mechanical damage to mushrooms during transportation stress and offered a viable method for enhancing mushroom transportation and storage.