Role of polyamines in post-harvest storage: Influence of post-harvest putrescine treatment on quality properties and specific biochemical contents of cornelian cherry fruit

In this study, postharvest 0.3 mM, 0.5 mM and 1.0 mM putrescine doses were applied to cornelian cherry fruit, which is a climacteric fruit, and the fruit were stored for 45 days. Putrescine applications maintained fruit quality criteria by preventing changes in weight loss, soluble solids content (SSC), acidity and respiration rate. Putrescine 1.0 mM dose prevented the degradation of phenolic compounds, organic acids, and vitamin C contents in cornelian cherry fruit. In the application of 1.0 mM dose of putrescine (45 days), malic acid was determined as 64.07 g kg-1, vitamin C as 13.20 mg 100 g-1 and citric acid as 11.42 g kg-1. As a result of storage, it was observed that the most effective dose preventing the degradation of phenolic acids (chlorogenic acid 9.73 mg 100 g-1; ocoumaric acid 3.78 mg 100 g-1; ferulic acid 2.43 mg 100 g-1) was 1.0 mM putrescine application. The most effective doses on flavonoids were found to be 1.0 mM (rutin), 0.5 mM (catechin) and 0.3 mM (quercetin). As a result, it was concluded that the exogenous application of putrescine can be used as a post-harvest tool to preserve the quality and storage life of cornelian cherry fruit.