Changes in the Contents of Chemical Constituents in Middle Size 'Shirokaga' Mume Fruit in Relation to Maturity at Harvest and during Ripening.

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'Shirokaga' mume fruits (Japanese Apricot, <I>Prunus mume</I> Sieb. et Zucc., middle size cv.) were harvested at various maturities as materials for making Umezuke (a salted Japanese pickle), and the changes of chemical constituents were determined in the course of ripening after harvesting at 20°C. 1) Late-harvested fruits showed ethylene production even at harvest and the rate increased with the advance of harvest date. In early-harvested fruits, ethylene production occurred during storage at 20°C. The increase of ethylene production after harvesting became more rapid with the advance of harvest date. 2) The chlorophyll content and hardness of the fruit decreased remarkably during storage, coinciding with the rapid increase of ethylene production. 3) Linear increase of citric acid and linear decrease of malic acid were observed in the fruit during maturation on the tree, and roughly similar trend was observed during storage. 4) The amounts of alanine, serine, proline, valine, isoleucine and leucine of free amino acids increased during storage of the fruits, and especially the alanine content became 4.8-14.5 times the amount at harvest. 5) A significant decrease was observed in glucose and sorbitol contents during storage, and sucrose and fructose contents increased slightly following an initial decrease at an early stage of storage.
日本食品保蔵科学会の論文