Postharvest Treatment for Preserving Antioxidant Properties and Total Phenolic Content of Tomatoes and Litchis

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants and polyphenols that help in prevention of many disorders like non communicable and degenerative diseases. However, they are highly susceptible to bacterial and fungal spoilage. In light of this, the present study aims to quantify the loss of antioxidant properties of litchis and tomatoes stored in the refrigerator for 21 days and to explore the protective effect of UV-C and hot water immersion treatment (HWT) to prevent, or atleast reduce, the effect of storage. Interestingly, both the treatments were able to reduce the loss of antioxidant properties in stored tomatoes, whereas, UV-C and HWT completely abrogated the storage induced loss of antioxidant properties in litchis.