Maintaining Quality and Reducing Decay of Berry Fruits with Plant Volatile Oils

Fungal decay is a serious problem during postharvest storage and marketing of berry fruits. Several plant volatile oils were evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing decay and maintaining quality of berry fruits. Linalool, p-cymene, carvacrol, anethole, perillaldehyde, cinnamic acid, and cinnamaldehyde were found to be effective in suppressing mold growth in blueberries during storage at 10 ^oC. Combinations of carvacrol and p-cymene or linalool and p-cymene significantly retarded decay in raspberries. Treatment with carvacrol, anethol, or perillaldehyde also significantly increased the levels of fructose, glucose, and citric acid in blueberries. The major anthocyanin in blueberries, malvidin-3-galactoside, was enhanced by carvacrol, anethole, perillaldehyde, cinnamic acid, and cinnamaldehyde, but not by linalool or p-cymene. Higher free radical scavenging capacities were found in blueberries treated with carvacrol, anethol, or perillaldehyde compared to untreated fruit as measured by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and hydroxyl radical (^.OH). Further studies are required to evaluate the sensory quality of berry fruits treated with these plant volatile oils.