Review: Role of polyamines in chilling injury of fruit and vegetables

Some tropical and subtropical fruit and vegetables suffer chilling injuries (CI) when exposed to low (above freezing) temperatures. The symptoms of such injuries vary between species, although they usually involve staining of the peel and internal brewing, and are related to important modifications at the cell membrane level. The polyamines putrescine, spermidine and spermine, have an antisenescent action because of their capacity to link with anionic compounds in the cell membrane and to capture free radicals, thus stabilizing the lipid bilayer and preventing membrane deterioration. This paper reviews the mechanism responsible for the physiological alterations produced by chilling, the role of polyamines and the quantitative changes they undergo in the affected tissues. Finally, it describes the possibility of using different treatments to reduce the negative effects of low temperatures and their influence on polyamine levels.