Physiological and physico-chemical changes in green papaya (Carica papaya L. ‘Kaek Noul’) shreds taken from the outer or inner mesocarp

Abstract

This study compared physiological and physico-chemical changes in shreds of green papaya (Carica papaya L. ‘Kaek Noul’), taken from inner and outer mesocarp tissues, during storage at 7ºC for up to 8 d. Reductions in the flesh firmness of shreds, microstructure, colouration, dry matter content (DMC), and fresh weight (FW) loss, and in the rates of respiration, ethylene production, and enzyme activities were measured. The rapid loss of firmness of green papaya ‘Kaek Noul’ shreds taken from the inner mesocarp was attributed to the larger and more loosely arranged cells of the inner mesocarp compared to the smaller and compact cells of the outer mesocarp. Shreds taken from the outer mesocarp had a higher DMC [6.21–6.77% (w/w)] than those from the inner mesocarp [5.83–6.34% (w/w)] during storage at 7ºC. FW loss was higher for shreds from the inner mesocarp than from the outer mesocarp (0.89–1.12% vs. 0.39–1.00%, respectively). Colour values (h°) were lower at the end of storage for shreds from the inner mesocarp than shreds from the outer mesocarp (104.38° and 111.94°, respectively). Moreover, scanning electron micrographs of shreds from inner mesocarp and outer mesocarp tissues showed that the slower loss of firmness in shreds from the outer mesocarp could be attributed to having smaller and more compact cells, as well as to lower ethylene production by the outer mesocarp. However, this was not related to cellulase activity. This study indicated why processors prefer to use shreds from the outer mesocarp of green papaya.