How Does Cold Storage Affect the Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity in Plum Cultivars?

Cold storage is commonly used as the main postharvest technology to maintain organoleptic fruit quality, although the changes occurring on the bioactive compounds have been less studied. In this study, the evolution of the bioactive compounds (phenolics, anthocyanins and carotenoids) and antioxidant capacity (AOC) was evaluated at commercial harvest and during cold storage and subsequent shelf life in eight plum cultivars, both red-purple and yellow types. At harvest, differences existed in the bioactive compounds and AOC among cultivars in both peel and pulp, the concentration being higher in the peel than in the flesh. During cold storage, a general increase was found for total phenolics, anthocyanins and carotenoids, which influenced the AOC, since hydrophilic-AOC (H-AOC) was correlated to both phenolics and anthocyanins, while lipophilic-AOC (L-AOC) was correlated to carotenoids. Then, carotenoids and phenolics (and among them the anthocyanins) could be the main lipophilic and hydrophilic compounds contributing to L-AOC and H-AOC, respectively. In conclusion, the cold storage did not negatively affect the bioactive compounds.