Enhancement of quality and self‐defense capacity of Agaricus bisporus by UV‐C treatment

BACKGROUND

Agaricus bisporus (A. bisporus) with completely white appearance are popular with consumers. However, A. bisporus are easily senescence and spoilt, which results in browning and oxidative tissue damage with limited shelf life. This study investigated the effects of shortwave ultraviolet (UV‐C, 1.0 kJ m⁻²) irradiation on quality features, enzymatic browning, defense properties of A. bisporus stored at 4 °C for 21 d.

RESULTS

After storage, UV‐C irradiated A. bisporus had increased quality on sensory, color, hardness, exhibited higher content in total phenolic, brown melanin precursors, including γ‐glutaminyl‐4‐hydroxybenzene (GHB), γ‐glutaminyl‐3,4‐dihydroxybenzene (GDHB) and tyrosine content, lower accumulation of malondiadehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), superoxide radical (O₂^•¯) and maintained membrane integrity in comparison to control samples. Besides, A. bisporus treated by UV‐C showed lower degree of browning and higher level of self‐defense capacity which may be ascribed to the enhancement in activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), Chitinase (CHT), β‐1, 3 glucanase activity (GLU) and inhibiting the activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) during the storage.

CONCLUSION

These results indicated that the higher self‐defense capacity with UV‐C treatment might be the mechanism associated with the delay of senescence in Agaricus bisporus. Therefore, the UV‐C treatment is suggested as a potential practical application in mushrooms.

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