STUDIES ON POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY AND THE STORAGE

TECHNOLOGY OF MANGO (MANGIFERA INDICA L.)

QIN WEN1,4, RONGCHAO MA1, QIAO DONG2 and YAO XIN3
1

Information and Engineering Technology Institute of Sichuan Agricultural

University
Yaan, Sichuan, China, 625014
2

Food Science Institute of China Agriculture University

Beijing, China, 100083

Food Science Department of Xichang Institute, Xichang, Sichuan, China, 615000

Accepted for Publication July 16, 2006

ABSTRACT
Mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. Hongxiangya and Wacheng) was chosen
to study the effect of postharvest biological characters in different storage
conditions. The determining items included respiratory rate, total sugar,
vitamin C (Vc) content, firmness, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase
(POD). The results showed that both 8 and 11C were the better storage
temperatures, and the storage life would last 50 days in this situation. The
respiration rate increased quickly between the 16th to the 22nd days; the peak
values were the 28th and 25th days at 8C for Hongxiangya and Wacheng,
respectively. The flesh firmness decreased dramatically at 6 days after harvest.
Total sugar content, Vc content, PPO and POD increased at first and then
decreased. The color changed from green to yellow with the increase of
carotenoids content. After treatment with thiabendozole and iprodione, the
number of rot fruits was markedly lower than the other treatments. The best
temperature is 11 and 14C for Hongxiangya and Wacheng, respectively. The
rot rate is 6.77 and 8.33% with 1,000-ppm iprodine treatment after 50-days
storage.
INTRODUCTION
Mango, the so-called king of tropical fruits, has a unique flavor and
higher economic value. The fruit is popular for its bright color and beautiful
4

Corresponding author. TEL: 86-08352885019; FAX: 86-13981616637; EMAIL: qinwen1967@

yahoo.com.cn

670

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 30 (2006) 670683. All Rights Reserved.
2006, The Author(s)
Journal compilation 2006, Blackwell Publishing

POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY OF MANGO

671

rind, tender and slippery pulp, and strong fragrance. Moreover, its nutrition
value is high; vitamin A is especially higher than the others; vitamins B1, B2
and C are greater than in orange or pineapple. Unfortunately, mango has low
storability because of its vigorously physiological process, rapid browning and
susceptibility to microorganism infection. These main reasons reduced its
commercial value seriously, and limited the development of the mango industry badly.
There are many researches about postharvest physiology of fruits.
Mature hot air treatment fruit softened faster and had increased skin color
development compared with immature hot air treatment fruit (Jacobi et al.
1995). One report indicates that the influence of electromagnetism before the
respiratory peak clearly exists (Yao et al. 2000).
After being treated with an appropriate concentration of citric acid, the
physiological activity of the harvested mango fruits is significantly slowed
down, and the peaks of respiration are delayed (Shi et al. 2000b).
Appropriate calcium treatment can obviously slow down the physiological activities of postharvest mango (Shi et al. 2000a). No postharvest
physiology properties have been reported on the special varieties of
mango.
The object of this study is to search for a better storage method by the
property of postharvest physiology of mango.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sample and Sample treatment
Hongxiangya and Wacheng fruits were obtained from the orchard
in Panzhihua. The fruits were immediately picked out and precooled at
10C and were then divided into five groups. After precooling, A group
fruits were immersed in 700-ppm thiophanate solution for 5 min. B group
fruits were immersed in 700-ppm thiophanate solution for 5 min. The
A group fruits were immersed in 1,000-ppm iprodione solution for
5 min. C group fruits were immersed in a self-making wax solution for
5 min in order to form a membrane on the surface of the fruits. D
group fruits were immersed in 1,000-ppm prochloraz solution for
5 min. E group fruits were only immersed in clear water for 5 min. After
immersion, we used polyethylene film to pack up each fruit and then
stored the fruits at 8, 11, 14 and 25C, respectively. The quality
character was measured every 5 days until no commercial fruit existed
(Table 1).

672

Q. WEN ET AL.

TABLE 1.
FIVE METHODS TO TREAT THE FRUITS
Experimental series

Treatment

A
B
C
D
CK

Thiophanate (700 ppm)

Iprodione (1,000 ppm)
Wax solution
Prochloraz (1,000 ppm)
Clear water

Physicochemical Analyses
Rot Exponent.

Rot index = 100

rot series rot number

All number highest series

0 rank = well
1 ranks = rot area less than 10%;
2 ranks = rot area 1030%;
3 ranks = rot area more than 30%;
Firmness. Fruit firmness is measured by physical property instrument
(TSM 2000, American Food Technology Corporation).
Respiratory Rate. Infrared CO2 analyzer (Beijing analyzer instrument,
Beijing Electric Academe, China) was used to measure the respiratory
rate.
Quality Character. Total soluble solid (TSS) content, reductive sugar
and total sugar, titratable acidity (TA), carotenoids and vitamin C were estimated according to the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC)
(AOAC 1984). Reagent is offered by Sigma Company and ChengDu Chemical
Reagent Factory. All the chemical analyses data were reported from the mean
of three replicates.
Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO) and Peroxidase (POD) Activity. The
assays of enzymatic activities were conducted immediately after extract. PPO
and POD activities were monitored by measuring the increase of absorbance at
398 and 460 nm. The PPO activity was performed in 3 mL of reaction mixture
containing 0.5-mol/L 4-methylcatechol, 0.2-mol/L sodium phosphate buffer

POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY OF MANGO

673

(pH 6.4) and 100 mL of the crude enzyme. The reaction mixture for POD
consisted of 500 mL of the crude enzyme and 2-mL 0.05% guaiacol in 0.2mol/L sodium phosphate buffers (pH 6.4), and it was incubated at 25C for
15 min; 1 mL of 0.08% H2O2 was added. Enzyme activity of PPO and POD
were presented of the absorbance at 398 nm and 460 nm wavelength per
minute.

DISCUSSION AND RESULTS

Influence for Rot Rate and Weight Loss
Influence of rot rate and weight loss for Hongxiangya and Wacheng at
different temperatures are presented in Tables 2 and 3.
These values showed that the rot rate and weight loss increased with the
increase of storage time. At normal temperature, the increase rate is much
faster than that of 11 and 14C. The best temperature is 11 and 14C for
Hongxiangya and Wacheng, respectively. The rot rate is 6.77 and 8.33% with
1,000-ppm iprodine treatment after 50-days storage.
Influence for Quality of Fruits during Storage
Fruit Firmness. Firmness is an important index to determine if the fruit
and vegetable is mature or immature. Both Figs. 1 and 2 showed the change in
firmness during the storage process. The firmness decreased gradually during
storage at any temperature. The fastest decrease rate was 25C treatment and
the lowest decrease rate was 8C for both kinds of varieties, their firmness
decreased similarly from 8, 11, 14 to 25C. So the descending degree was
influenced greatly by the temperature of storage.
Respiratory Rate. The respiratory rates of fruits were measured continually after harvest. Figures 3 and 4 showed the changes in respiration rate
during storage period. Hongxiangya and Wacheng reached respiration peak,
respectively, from 8 to 10 days for 25C treatment and need more days at 8, 11
and 14C. The time of respiration peak was gradually postponed for reducing
the temperature. Hongxiangya reached respiration peak after 28 days at 11C;
the peak value was half of 25C. Wacheng reached the respiration peak in 25
days at 8C, and the peak value was only one-third of 25C.
Changes of Quality Character. No significant difference among all the
treatment in TSS was found (Figs. 5 and 6). From Fig. 5, we can see in
Hongxiangya that TSS hit the highest at nearly 22 days in 25C, and about 28

8C + A
8C + B
8C + C
8C + D
8C + CK
11C + A
11C + B
11C + C
11C + D
11C + CK
14C + A
14C + B
14C + C
14C + D
14C + CK

Experiment
series

0
0
0
0
0
0
6.67
6.67
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0.52
0.60
0
0.75
0.53
0
0
0
0
0
0.21
0.45
0.89
0.94
0.82

0
6.67
0
6.67
0
0
20.0
20.0
0
13.33
13.33
6.67
0
0
6.67

Rot index

Rot index

Rate weight

20 days

10 days

0.52
0.72
0.75
0.92
0.64
0.91
1.5
0
0.53
0.33
0.42
0.45
0.89
1.31
0.92

Rate of weight
0
6.67
20.0
13.3
20
6.67
26.67
20.0
0
26.67
33.33
40.0
26.67
13.33
26.67

Rot index

30 days

0.62
0.84
1.06
0.92
0.75
1.15
0.26
1.10
0.25
1.18
0.60
0.99
1.16
1.45
1.35

Rate weight
6.67
20.0
20.0
26.7
26.7
20
26.67
20.0
0
33.33
33.33
40.0
40.0
13.33
33.33

Rot index

40 days

0.72
1.08
1.06
0.92
1.21
1.86
0.88
1.20
0.68
1.82
0.75
1.08
1.29
1.47
1.39

Rate weight

TABLE 2.
INFLUENCE OF ROT RATE AND WEIGHT LOSS FOR HONGXIANGYA

20.0
16.67
26.67
33.33
40.0
16.67
6.67
20.0
16.67
33.33
40.0
46.67
40.0
13.33
46.67

Rot index

50 days

0.86
1.50
1.26
1.15
1.51
1.86
0.97
1.35
0.85
2.03
1.05
1.21
1.81
1.52
1.53

Rate weight

674
Q. WEN ET AL.

8C + A
8C + B
8C + C
8C + D
8C + CK
11C + A
11C + B
11C + C
11C + D
11C + CK
14C + A
14C + B
14C + C
14C + D
14C + CK

Experiment
series

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0.91
0
0.80
0.14
0.69
0.93
0
0.83
1.04
0.52
0.51
0.48
0.52
1.40
0.62

0
0
0
0
0
0
8.33
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Rot index

Rot index

Rate weight

20 days

10 days

0.91
1.5
0
0.53
1.21
0.30
0.08
0.83
1.14
1.26
0.62
0.48
0.52
1.97
0.72

Rate weight
0
0
0
0
0
0
8.83
0
13.3
8.83
0
0
8.33
8.33
8.33

Rot index

30 days

1.09
1.60
0.99
0.63
1.59
0.62
0.84
1.06
0.92
0.75
0.62
0.58
0.62
1.97
0.81

Rate weight
0
0
8.33
0
16.67
8.83
16.67
8.83
8.83
26.7
8.33
0
8.3
8.33
16.67

Rot index

40 days

TABLE 3.
INFLUENCE OF ROT RATE AND WEIGHT LOSS FOR WACHENG

1.42
1.90
0.99
0.92
1.75
0.72
1.08
1.06
0.92
16.67
0.62
0.78
0.78
1.97
0.92

Rate weight

18.33
0
25.0
15.33
25.0
16.67
25.0
33.33
25.0
33.33
12.67
8.33
16.67
16.67
25.0

Rot index

50 days

1.62
2.11
0.99
1.12
1.85
1.87
1.01
1.82
1.15
1.97
0.72
0.97
0.98
2.01
1.12

Rate weight

POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY OF MANGO

675

676

Q. WEN ET AL.

4.5

8C

Firmness (kg/cm2)

4.0

11C

3.5

14C

3.0

25C

2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

Firmness (kg/cm2)

FIG. 1. CHANGES IN FIRMNESS OF HONGXIANGYA DURING STORAGE

4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0

8C
11C
14C
25C

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 2. CHANGES IN FIRMNESS OF WACHENG DURING STORAGE

8C
11C
14C
25C

Respiration rate
(CO2mg/kgh)

100
80
60
40
20
0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 3. CHANGES IN RESPIRATION RATE OF HONGXIANGYA DURING STORAGE

days at 8, 11 and 14C, then dropped. But its decreasing speed at 25C is
faster than the other treatments. On the other hand, in Wacheng, the highest
TSS level was at nearly 28 days. The treatment at 8C in both varieties had
the lowest TSS content. The results have shown that the TSS content of

Respiration rate
(CO2mg/kgh)

POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY OF MANGO

70

8C

60

11C

50

14C

40

25C

677

30
20
10
0

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 4. CHANGES IN RESPIRATION RATE OF WACHENG DURING STORAGE

8C
11C
14C
25C

18.0

TSS (%)

16.0
14.0
12.0
10.0
8.0
6.0
0

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

TSS (%)

FIG. 5. CHANGES IN TOTAL SOLUBLE SOLIDS (TSS) CONTENT OF HONGXIANGYA

DURING STORAGE
18

8C

16

11C
14C

14

25C

12
10
8
6

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 6. CHANGES IN TOTAL SOLUBLE SOLIDS (TSS) CONTENT OF WACHENG

DURING STORAGE

Hongxiangya was lower than that of Wacheng. Sugar content is shown in

both Tables 4 and 5. All indexes characterized increased slowly from the
storage initial time and then decreased to the maximum level. The trends of
changes were nearly the same between Hongxiangya and Wacheng at each

678

Q. WEN ET AL.

TABLE 4.
CHANGES OF SUGAR CONTENTS AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE DURING STORAGE
OF HONGXINAGYA
Treatments

5D

10D

15D

20D

TS

RS

TS

RS

TS

RS

TS

RS

8C
11C
14C
25C

4.76
4.10
4.04
5.89

2.45
2.51
2.76
3.10

5.63
6.43
7.06
5.92

3.68
3.75
4.95
3.25

6.72
6.86
8.42
6.18

3.94
3.96
5.14
4.63

6.91
8.24
10.26
12.08

4.03
5.25
6.04
5.04

Treatments

25D

8C
11C
14C
25C

30D

35D

40D

TS

RS

TS

RS

TS

RS

TS

RS

8.35
10.14
11.73
9.64

5.51
5.02
5.05
5.25

9.02
9.49
8.92
6.16

6.07
6.17
5.95
4.88

7.29
8.52
7.09

5.43
5.91
4.46

7.31
7.87
6.56

4.57
4.94
4.07

TABLE 5.
CHANGES OF SUGAR CONTENTS AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE DURING STORAGE
OF WACHENG
Treatments

5D

10D

15D

20D

TS

RS

TS

RS

TS

RS

TS

RS

8C
11C
14C
25C

6.18
6.10
6.25
9.50

3.65
3.42
3.28
5.99

8.41
8.50
8.28
10.74

3.70
4.54
5.33
7.03

8.65
8.71
9.56
10.98

3.80
5.74
5.92
7.93

7.99
8.97
9.80
11.13

4.00
5.06
6.99
8.17

Treatments

25D

8C
11C
14C
25C

30D

35D

40D

TS

RS

TS

RS

TS

RS

TS

RS

8.12
9.11
10.21
12.30

5.85
5.15
6.63
9.31

7.36
8.13
11.05
10.87

5.46
5.17
7.25
6.01

6.28
6.26
6.12

4.79
5.19
4.76

6.07
7.00
6.62

4.06
5.71
3.89

treatment. TSS and sugar content of Wacheng are a bit higher than Hongxiangya. TA content decreased quickly (Figs. 7 and 8). During the storage
period, TSS, sugar and TA content were highly influenced by storage temperature. From Figs. 912, we can see that the vitamin C and carotene
content of postharvest mango were lost; comparatively, the initial vitamin C

POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY OF MANGO

8C
11C
14C
25C

3.50
3.00

Titrable acidity (%)

679

2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00

10 15 20 25 30
Storage time (d)

35 40

FIG. 7. CHANGES IN TITRATABLE ACIDITY (TA) OF HONGXIANGYA DURING STORAGE

8C

Titrable acidity (%)

2.50

11C

2.00

14C
25C

1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 8. CHANGES IN TITRATABLE ACIDITY (TA) OF WACHENG DURING STORAGE

8C

25. 0

11C
Vc (mg/100g)

20. 0

14C
25C

15. 0
10. 0
5. 0
0. 0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 9. CHANGES IN VITAMIN C (Vc) OF HONGXIANGYA DURING STORAGE

content of Hongxiangya is 2.06 mg/100 g, and the carotene content is

4.89 mg/100 g. Wacheng is 7.60 mg/100 g and 3.65 mg/100 g, respectively.
Both vitamin C and carotene contents increased slowly at first then decreased
for these two kinds mango.

680

Q. WEN ET AL.

8C

25

11C

Vc (mg/100g)

20

14C

15

25C

10
5
0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 10. CHANGES IN VITAMIN C (Vc) OF WACHENG DURING STORAGE

8C
11C
14C
25C

12. 0
Total Carotene
(mg/100g)

10. 0
8. 0
6. 0
4. 0
2. 0
0. 0
0

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

Total Carotene
(mg/100g)

FIG. 11. CHANGES IN TOTAL CAROTENE OF HONGXIANGYA DURING STORAGE

8C

6. 0
5. 5
5. 0
4. 5
4. 0
3. 5
3. 0
2. 5
2. 0

11C
14C
25C

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 12. CHANGES IN TOTAL CAROTENE OF WACHENG DURING STORAGE

PPO and POD Activity. PPO and POD are enzymes generally existent
in plants. The change of PPO activity is directly related to fruit browning. POD
can catalyze and decompose low concentration of H2O2 in the pulp tissue, and
it can play a significant role in chilling injury and senescence. The change
of PPO and POD activity in Figs. 1316, based on the condition of 25C,

PPO activity
(0.01 OD398/hg)

POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY OF MANGO

0.80

8C

0.70

11C

0.60

14C

681

25C

0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
0

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 13. CHANGES IN POLYPHENOL OXIDASE (PPO) ACTIVITY OF HONGXIANGYA

DURING STORAGE

0.80

8C
11C
14C
25C

PPO activity
(0.01 OD398/hg)

0.70
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
0

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 14. CHANGES IN POLYPHENOL OXIDASE (PPO) ACTIVITY OF WACHENG

DURING STORAGE

show that the activity of PPO and POD were kept relatively low at the
beginning, and then they increased to the highest value, and at last,
decreased rapidly. The PPO of Hongxiangya and Wacheng reached peak
values, respectively, in 5 and 10 days of storage, but POD reached peak values,
respectively, in 10 and 15 days of storage. Decreasing with temperature, the
peak time of enzyme activities gradually dropped, and the peak value lowered.
These experiments showed that lower temperature could depress PPO and
POD activity. These might be the reasons why lower temperature can restrain
browning and delaying, postponing the shelf life of fruits. And for both
Hongxiangya and Wacheng, the activities of PPO and POD have no big
difference.

682

Q. WEN ET AL.

0.45

8C
11C
14C
25C

POD activity
(0.01 OD470/hg)

0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00

10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 15. CHANGES IN PEROXIDASE (POD) ACTIVITY OF HONGXIANGYA

DURING STORAGE

8C
11C
14C
25C

POD activity
(0.01 OD470/hg)

0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00

10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Storage time (d)

FIG. 16. CHANGES IN PEROXIDASE (POD) ACTIVITY OF WACHENG DURING STORAGE

DISCUSSION
The results show that Hongxiangya and Wacheng should be
climacteric fruits. Storage temperature is the key factor that influences the
increase of microorganism, short storage life and the quality for fruits post
harvest.
Respiration intensity dropped by temperature from 8 to 14C; it will delay
the emergence of respiratory peak and peak value. Respiration can be lowered
apparently under 8C and then drop obviously. Mango is sensitive to coldness
and it suffered chilling injury easily. We found that it needs 5 days to reach
respiratory peak at 8C for Wacheng. This is consistent with cold chilling
phenomenon observed by Ji (1994) and by Su (2001).

POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY OF MANGO

683

Lower temperature has greater influence in the physiological and biochemical index of mango. Low temperature can effectively restrain both PPO
and PODs activities, postpone increase in enzyme activities and delay the
mature course of fruits.
The storage technology of mango still needs further study.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by X. Yao, B. Lan, and D.D. Zhang et al.,
students of Sichuan Agriculture University. The authors appreciate their
support and continued help throughout the project.

REFERENCES
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JACOBI, K.K., WONG, L.S. and GIILES, J.E. 1995. Effect of fruit maturity
on quality and physiology of high-humidity hot air-treated Kensington
mango. Postharvest Biol. Tec. 5(1), 149159.
JI, Z.L. and ZHANG, S.L. 1994. The research of mango low temperature
stored and its chilling injure. Hort. J. 21(2), 111116.
SHI, R.C., ZHANG, X.X. and CAI, H.H. 2000a. Effects of citric acid treatment on physiology of post-harvest mango fruits. Acta Pyh. Sinica. 26(2),
130132.
SHI, R.C., ZHOU, L.Z.H. and ZHANG, X.X. 2000b. Effects of post-harvest
treatment with calcium on some physiological aspects of mango. Chin. J.
Tropical Crops 20(1), 5255.
SU, X.J. and JIANG, Y.M. 2001. Research progress of mango post-harvest
physiology and its fresh-keeping technology. Zhong K Agri College
14(1), 6066.
YAO, H.L., YE, Q.Z.H. and LI, S.L. 2000. Physiological effects of electromagnetism environment of post-harvest mango. China J. Appl. Environ.
Biol. 6(1), 3335.