Postharvest Nitric Oxide Infiltration Reduces Oxidative Metabolism and Prolongs Shelf-Life of Banana

Faster ripening and senescence of banana fruit is closely associated with higher ethylene production and oxidative damages. Present study evaluated the mechanism of sodium nitroprusside (as a nitric oxide donor) on delayed ripening and senescence in banana as well as mitigating the oxidative damage. Nitric oxide (NO) was applied to fruit by vacuum infiltration (1 mM) and stored for 8 days at 25 degrees C with 65-70% relative humidity. Fruit quality, electrolytic leakage, phenolic content, reactive oxygen species production and scavenging activity were investigated. The results showed that NO treated fruit retained higher phenolics, antioxidant capacity (radical scavenging activity), and reduced electrolytic leakage, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and free radical production (H2O2 and O-2(-)) than control on the last day. The inhibitory effect of NO on ripening was observed with delayed chlorophyll loss as well as reduced ethylene and CO2 production rate in banana during storage. Therefore, vacuum infiltrated NO could be a possible postharvest treatment for mitigating the oxidative damages and preserving banana fruit up to 8 days at ambient condition.