Effect of passive modified atmosphere storage incorporated with 1-MCP on quality of asparagus spears during cold storage

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to determine the effects of 1-methycyclopropane (1-MCP) incorporated with passive modified atmosphere packaging on quality of asparagus during stored at 4°C. Weight loss, texture, fiber, total ascorbic acid and total sugar content of the asparagus packed in polyethylene bag (PE), treated with 1 ppb 1-MCP (MC) and treated with 1 ppb 1-MCP incorporated with contained in PE bag (MP) were monitored. The result shows that the use of PE bag prevented the loss of fresh weight of asparagus. The use of 1-MCP and 1-MCP incorporated with PE delayed the loss of firmness. The fiber content of the asparagus increased during storage. There was no significant difference in fiber content of each treatment during storage. The use of 1-MCP incorporated with PE delayed the loss of ascorbic acid content rather than other treatments. The use of PE, 1-MCP and 1-MCP incorporated with PE delayed the reduction of total sugar content when compared to the control. These results suggest that the use of 1-MCP incorporated with PE is a good alternative delaying the loss of fresh weight and total ascorbic acid content of asparagus spears.