Effect of anisone essential oil on biochemical and shelf life properties of strawberry cultivar 'Albion'

Strawberry fruit is rapidly degraded after harvest and in some cases, due to the length of time of marketing; consumers do not reach good quality. Therefore, the use of natural ingredients to enhance its shelf life and maintain its quality seems to be the most important factor in the sensitivity of strawberry fruits to cold damage that limits their storage at low temperatures for a long time. Treatments such as the essential oils with antioxidant properties increase the shelf life of fruits. In the present study, we investigated the effects of anisone essential oil immersion on quality and increasing the shelf life of Albion strawberry fruit. Strawberry fruits were treated with zero (control) essential oil, 250, 500, 750 μl/l and stored at 5±1 at 85% relative humidity for 30 days. Parameters such as fruit weight loss, titrable acidity, pH, total soluble solids, total phenolic content, total flavonoid contents, antioxidant capacity (DPPH assay), anthocyanin content and peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase enzymes activity were investigated. Results showed that weight loss, water loss and organic acids decreased in all treatments during storage, but these parameters more decreased in fruits treated with 500 μl/l anisone essential oil. Total phenolic content, titrable acidity, total soluble solids, peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase activities were higher in 500 mM treated fruits.