Exogenous methyl jasmonate modulates antioxidant activities and delays pericarp browning in litchi

Pericarp browning (PB) is a serious problem in harvested litchi and drastically affects consumer acceptability and marketability. Postharvest PB and subsequent decay in fruit are linked to reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in tissues. Antioxidants neutralize or scavenge ROS and maintain the shelf-life of fruit, especially in non-climacteric ones such as litchi. This work was aimed to assess the effect of vacuum infiltrated methyl jasmonate (MeJA; 1 and 2 mM) on the quality of harvested litchi fruit (cv. Purbi) during ambient storage (28 °C, RH 70–75%). The exogenous MeJA infiltration (2 mM) significantly retained quality attributes of litchi fruit as evident by lowered PB, weight loss, disease occurrence, quinone, and ROS (H2O2 and O2−) accumulation. Moreover, MeJA infiltrated fruit suppressed the activity of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase resulting in higher anthocyanin, phenolics, antioxidant potential, phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity as well as membrane integrity throughout the storage. Control fruit showed an early quality deterioration marked by prominent PB and other biochemical degradative changes. Thus, exogenous MeJA infiltration (2 mM) could be suggested to increase the shelf life of litchi by four days under ambient conditions.