Effect of anti-browning agents on quality changes of loquat [Eriobotryca Japonica (Thunb.) Lindley] fruit after harvest

In loquat fruit,browning is a major problem that reduces the shelf life. study was conducted to evaluate the potential of citric acid (ca) and ascorbic acid (aa) as anti- browning agents during storage of loquat fruit. loquat fruit was immersed for 2 min in solutions of 250 mg/l,500 mg/l,750 mg/l ascorbic acid (aa) and citric acid (ca) then placed in corrugated soft board cartons and stored at 4°c for a period of 10 weeks. changes in browning index (bi),superoxide dismutase (sod),peroxidase (pod),catalase (cat),total phenolic content (tp),polyphenoloxidase (ppo) and free radical scavenging activity (frsa) as affected by different treatments were studied. ascorbic acid at higher concentrations was useful in maintaining the fruit quality than citric acid,while aa and ca at higher concentrations significantly reduced the browning.