Maintaining postharvest quality and enhancing shelf-life of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) using brassinosteroids: A novel approach

Bell pepper is a major vegetable crop of global commercial interest, but the postharvest quality is constrained by faster deterioration and senescence. Brassinosteroids (BRs), are an emerging and novel biomolecule that delay ripening and senescence in various vegetables. Freshly harvested bell pepper fruit were immersed in an aqueous solution of BRs concentrations (0, 2, 5, 7 and 10 μM) for 20 min and subsequently stored for 20 d at 10 ± 1°C, 85–90% RH. The bell pepper treated with 10 μM BRs significantly reduced respiration rate (∼2.3 fold), delayed weight loss (∼2.2 fold), and retained higher firmness (∼2.5 fold), total phenolic (∼1.7 fold), flavonoid (∼1.7 fold), proline (∼2 fold) and ascorbic acid content (∼2 fold) over the control fruit at the end of cold storage. Also, it retained higher DPPH radical scavenging (∼1.8 fold) and antioxidant enzyme activity (∼1.5 fold) over the control at the end of cold storage. Moreover, BRs treated bell pepper exhibited reduced malondialdehyde accumulation and delayed capsaicin, and chlorophyll degradation. Remarkably, 10 μM BRs treatment prolonged the shelf-life of bell pepper up to 20 d (10 d extra over control) without compromising quality and sensory acceptability.