Effect of ozone and Satureja khuzistanica extract on the shelf life and quality of ‎pomegranate arils cv. Malas Saveh‎

Ready-to-use pomegranate arils can be a good alternative to fresh fruits, but they have a short shelf life, so a safe and healthy method is needed to maintain the quality of these arils during storage. For this purpose, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of combined ozone treatment and Satureja khuzistanica extract on pomegranate arils of Malas Saveh cultivar during storage for 21 days in the cold storage at 4 °C. Factorial experiment with two factors of postharvest treatments (including seven treatments: 1) 1 ppm ozone; 2) 3 ppm ozone; 3) 1 ppm ozone + 0.5% S. khuzistanica extract; 4) 1 ppm ozone + 1% S. khuzistanica extract; 5) 3 ppm ozone + 0.5% S. khuzistanica extract; 6) 3 ppm ozone + 1% S. khuzistanica extract; and 7) control), and sampling time (zero (before storage), 7, 14 and 21 days after storing arils in cold storage) were performed with three repetitions. The results showed that the highest amount of titratable acid (TA) (1.15%), anthocyanin (126 ppm), total phenol (115.6 mg GAE g-1 FW), and vitamin C (30.5 mg 100 g FW) during the storage period was obtained from 1 ppm ozone treatment with 0.5% extract of S. khuzistanica. Also, pomegranate arils treated with 1 ppm ozone + 0.5% S. khuzistanica extract had the highest appearance quality, and the lowest population of mesophilic, and psychrophilic bacteria, yeasts and fungal infections. In general, the combined treatment of ozone 1 ppm + 0.5% S. khuzistanica extracts is recommended as a safe and healthy method for storing pomegranate arils in storage.