Aminoethoxyvinylglycine Functional Analogues Prolong the Shelf Life of Apple Fruit

Apple is a kind of fruit that can be stored for a relatively long time, but softening, browning, and decay will occur during the long-term storage. Therefore, the research on apple preservation is meaningful. The application of ethylene inhibitors is an effective way to prolong fruit shelf life. Aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) and its functional analogues are ethylene synthesis inhibitors that can significantly prolong the shelf life of tomato fruit. In this work, 11 AVG analogues (2a-2k) were explored on apple fruit preservation and analyzed by the molecular docking based on the structure of apple 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase (ACS) protein (Protein Data Bank ID: 1YNU). The compounds 2c, 2i, 2j, and 2k show higher binding affinity than AVG. More importantly, analogues 2c and 2j significantly delay the fruit softening, the decrease of soluble solid content and weight loss and 2j is the most effective analogue in prolonging apple shelf life, indicating that the function of these analogues in apple preservation is basically associated with their predicted binding affinity to apple ACS. This study explores the application potential of AVG analogue resources and provides some new analogues for apple preservation. This research also demonstrates that molecular docking analysis based on target protein has important guiding significance for drug design.