The Application of Stress Treatments to Prevent the Development of Chilling Injury

摘要

The control of temperature is the most important tool to avoid postharvest losses during the commercialization of fruits and vegetables. However, one problem usually found during the cold storage of commodities of tropical and subtropical origin is the development of physiological disorders collectively known as chilling injury. Although chilling injury can be prevented by maintaining the commodity at temperatures above the critical threshold, these temperatures cause a significant reduction in the shelf life. Different mechanisms have been proposed to explain both, the physical and biochemical bases of this phenomenon. Over the last years, the theory that oxidative stress may be involved in chilling injury has gained importance. According to this theory, an oxidative unbalance causing an excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) would be the responsible for initiating the damage. Due to consumer concerns about the presence of chemicals in food, the use of physical techniques to avoid the development of chilling injury has been considered in many studies. According to this approach, the exposure of fruit to a stress may be used as a strategy to protect the commodity from the subsequent stress represented by the cold storage. From a biochemical point of view, evidence has been found that links this protective effect with the synthesis of a group of proteins known as heat shock proteins (HSP). The present review discusses the application of different stress treatments and the link between treatment application and HSP production. It is also discussed the role played by these protein in the protection and their potential use as biochemical markers to optimize the application of stress treatments.