Exploring the Impact of Citric Acid on Mitigating Sweet Potato Soft Rot and Enhancing Postharvest Quality
Citric acid (CAC) is a ubiquitous, odorless, and non-toxic food additive. Soft rot, caused by the pathogen <i>Rhizopus stolonifer</i>, is a major postharvest disease affecting sweet potato (<i>Ipomoea batatas</i> (L.) Lam). The main theme of this study is to determine the CAC...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/2/215 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832589500341026816 |
|---|---|
| author | Yixi Chen Linjiang Pang Jiacheng Bai Wenbao Yu Yueming Zhu Melvin Sidikie George Zunfu Lv Guoquan Lu |
| author_facet | Yixi Chen Linjiang Pang Jiacheng Bai Wenbao Yu Yueming Zhu Melvin Sidikie George Zunfu Lv Guoquan Lu |
| author_sort | Yixi Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Citric acid (CAC) is a ubiquitous, odorless, and non-toxic food additive. Soft rot, caused by the pathogen <i>Rhizopus stolonifer</i>, is a major postharvest disease affecting sweet potato (<i>Ipomoea batatas</i> (L.) Lam). The main theme of this study is to determine the CAC inhibitory mechanism against <i>Rhizopus stolonifer</i>, the causative agent of sweet potato soft rot. To ascertain the practical applicability of CAC, both in vitro and in vivo methodologies were employed. The aim of the in vitro experiments in this study was to delineate the effects of a 0.5% (<i>w</i>/<i>v</i>) CAC solution on the growth inhibition of <i>Rhizopus stolonifer</i>, encompassing mycelial morphology and colony expansion. In vivo experiments were carried out using “Xinxiang” sweet potato varieties and the application of a 0.5% (<i>w</i>/<i>v</i>) CAC solution as a pretreatment. Specifically, the tissue treated with 0.5% CAC maintained better appearance quality and texture characteristics; peroxidase, β-1,3-glucanase, chitinase, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activities were enhanced. Conversely, the same treatment resulted in a downregulation of polyphenol oxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, cellulase, and polygalactosidase activities. Moreover, CAC treatment was found to maintain elevated levels of total phenolics and flavonoids within the sweet potato tissues. In summary, the study demonstrates that 0.5% CAC fortifies the resistance of sweet potato to soft rot by activating defense-related enzymes, suppressing the activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes, and promoting the accumulation of antimicrobial compounds. These results advocate for the utilization of CAC as a postharvest treatment to mitigate the incidence of sweet potato soft rot. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cf3da94104284293b0de332a3352743a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-cf3da94104284293b0de332a3352743a2025-01-24T13:16:09ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-01-0115221510.3390/agriculture15020215Exploring the Impact of Citric Acid on Mitigating Sweet Potato Soft Rot and Enhancing Postharvest QualityYixi Chen0Linjiang Pang1Jiacheng Bai2Wenbao Yu3Yueming Zhu4Melvin Sidikie George5Zunfu Lv6Guoquan Lu7The Key Laboratory for Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Root and Tuber Crops, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Wusu Street # 666, Ling’an District, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaThe Key Laboratory for Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Root and Tuber Crops, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Wusu Street # 666, Ling’an District, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaThe Key Laboratory for Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Root and Tuber Crops, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Wusu Street # 666, Ling’an District, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaThe Key Laboratory for Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Root and Tuber Crops, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Wusu Street # 666, Ling’an District, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaThe Key Laboratory for Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Root and Tuber Crops, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Wusu Street # 666, Ling’an District, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaCrop Science Department, Njala University, Njala Campus, Private Mail Bag, Freetown 999127, Sierra LeoneThe Key Laboratory for Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Root and Tuber Crops, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Wusu Street # 666, Ling’an District, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaThe Key Laboratory for Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Root and Tuber Crops, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Wusu Street # 666, Ling’an District, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaCitric acid (CAC) is a ubiquitous, odorless, and non-toxic food additive. Soft rot, caused by the pathogen <i>Rhizopus stolonifer</i>, is a major postharvest disease affecting sweet potato (<i>Ipomoea batatas</i> (L.) Lam). The main theme of this study is to determine the CAC inhibitory mechanism against <i>Rhizopus stolonifer</i>, the causative agent of sweet potato soft rot. To ascertain the practical applicability of CAC, both in vitro and in vivo methodologies were employed. The aim of the in vitro experiments in this study was to delineate the effects of a 0.5% (<i>w</i>/<i>v</i>) CAC solution on the growth inhibition of <i>Rhizopus stolonifer</i>, encompassing mycelial morphology and colony expansion. In vivo experiments were carried out using “Xinxiang” sweet potato varieties and the application of a 0.5% (<i>w</i>/<i>v</i>) CAC solution as a pretreatment. Specifically, the tissue treated with 0.5% CAC maintained better appearance quality and texture characteristics; peroxidase, β-1,3-glucanase, chitinase, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activities were enhanced. Conversely, the same treatment resulted in a downregulation of polyphenol oxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, cellulase, and polygalactosidase activities. Moreover, CAC treatment was found to maintain elevated levels of total phenolics and flavonoids within the sweet potato tissues. In summary, the study demonstrates that 0.5% CAC fortifies the resistance of sweet potato to soft rot by activating defense-related enzymes, suppressing the activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes, and promoting the accumulation of antimicrobial compounds. These results advocate for the utilization of CAC as a postharvest treatment to mitigate the incidence of sweet potato soft rot.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/2/215<i>Ipomoea batatas</i>microbe controldefense enzymemechanismprincipal component analysis |
| spellingShingle | Yixi Chen Linjiang Pang Jiacheng Bai Wenbao Yu Yueming Zhu Melvin Sidikie George Zunfu Lv Guoquan Lu Exploring the Impact of Citric Acid on Mitigating Sweet Potato Soft Rot and Enhancing Postharvest Quality Agriculture <i>Ipomoea batatas</i> microbe control defense enzyme mechanism principal component analysis |
| title | Exploring the Impact of Citric Acid on Mitigating Sweet Potato Soft Rot and Enhancing Postharvest Quality |
| title_full | Exploring the Impact of Citric Acid on Mitigating Sweet Potato Soft Rot and Enhancing Postharvest Quality |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the Impact of Citric Acid on Mitigating Sweet Potato Soft Rot and Enhancing Postharvest Quality |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the Impact of Citric Acid on Mitigating Sweet Potato Soft Rot and Enhancing Postharvest Quality |
| title_short | Exploring the Impact of Citric Acid on Mitigating Sweet Potato Soft Rot and Enhancing Postharvest Quality |
| title_sort | exploring the impact of citric acid on mitigating sweet potato soft rot and enhancing postharvest quality |
| topic | <i>Ipomoea batatas</i> microbe control defense enzyme mechanism principal component analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/2/215 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yixichen exploringtheimpactofcitricacidonmitigatingsweetpotatosoftrotandenhancingpostharvestquality AT linjiangpang exploringtheimpactofcitricacidonmitigatingsweetpotatosoftrotandenhancingpostharvestquality AT jiachengbai exploringtheimpactofcitricacidonmitigatingsweetpotatosoftrotandenhancingpostharvestquality AT wenbaoyu exploringtheimpactofcitricacidonmitigatingsweetpotatosoftrotandenhancingpostharvestquality AT yuemingzhu exploringtheimpactofcitricacidonmitigatingsweetpotatosoftrotandenhancingpostharvestquality AT melvinsidikiegeorge exploringtheimpactofcitricacidonmitigatingsweetpotatosoftrotandenhancingpostharvestquality AT zunfulv exploringtheimpactofcitricacidonmitigatingsweetpotatosoftrotandenhancingpostharvestquality AT guoquanlu exploringtheimpactofcitricacidonmitigatingsweetpotatosoftrotandenhancingpostharvestquality |