Effect of Ascorbic Acid and Essential Oil of Thymbra spicata on Shelf Life and Quality Maintenance of Strawberry

Aiming at finding a suitable treatment for maintaining the fruit quality and increase the shelf life of strawberry, effects of ascorbic acid and essential oil of Thymbra spicata were evaluated. Fruits were dipped in 10 and 15 mM of ascorbic acid and essential oil of T. spicata (400 and 600 ppm) for two minutes, and after drying at room temperature, were packed by cellophane in the polyethylene container and transferred to 4 °C. Some of the qualitative, quantitative and biochemical parameters were measured at 7 and 14 days after storage. Results of analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences among the treatments in most of the evaluated parameters. Strawberry fruits treated with ascorbic acid and essential oil showed lower weight loss and lower fruit browning, while they had higher marketability than control plants. Ascorbic acid and essential oil treatments also led to decreases in polyphenol oxidase activity, total phenol content and electro leakage, while the vitamin C content and antioxidant capacity were significantly higher than control plants. Generally, ascorbic acid (15 mM) and essential oil (400 ppm) compounds reduced fruit’s degradation during cold storage and these treatments have the potential to be used as practical postharvest treatments to retain the quality of strawberry fruits.