Postharvest effect of gaseous ozone on physicochemical quality, carotenoid content and shelf-life of mango fruit

Abstract This study investigated the effect of gaseous ozone (O3) exposure time on the postharvest quality and shelf-life of mangoes. “Keitt” mango fruit harvested at physiological maturity was exposed to 0.25 mg/L of O3 for 12, 24,36, or 48 hours, and the control fruit were untreated. Fruit were thereafter stored at 10 ℃ for three weeks and ripened at ambient temperature for one week. Postharvest parameters such as mass loss, decay incidence, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and carotenoid content were assessed at weekly intervals. The findings showed that the physiological weight loss of untreated fruit (30.92%) was significantly higher (p <0.05) compared to O3 (12 h), O3 (24 h), O3 (36 h), and O3 (48 h) treated fruit, which was 28.49%, 25.90%, 20.54%, and 20.50%, respectively. Fruit treated with O3 (36 h) significantly maintained firmness, delayed TSS accumulation, and decreased loss of TA. The untreated fruit had a higher decay incidence compared to other treatments at the end of storage. Moreover, the total carotenoid content was notably higher in O3 (48 h) treated fruit during storage. Overall, the results demonstrated that the shelf-life of mango fruit was longer under the 36 h and 48 h treatments. These research findings indicate that O3 could be used effectively to maintain the postharvest quality and extend the shelf-life of mango fruit. Therefore, O3 (36 h) is recommended as a cost-effective postharvest treatment for “Keitt” mangoes.