Effect of reactive oxygen species on quality maintenance of broccoli florets with electrostatic atomized water particle treatment

- Electrostatic atomized water particle treatment suppressed yellowing of broccoli.
- H2O2 produced from the treatment showed the inhibitory effect of yellowing.
- Catalase activity increased immediately after the treatment.
- Increment of BoCAT gene expression was found in treated broccoli during storage.
- Regulation of H2O2 by catalase could be involved in keeping quality of broccoli.

The effect of electrostatic atomized water particle (EAWP) treatment on quality maintenance during postharvest storage was determined to clarify a physiological role of reactive oxygen species in broccoli florets. The EAWP treatment suppressed the floret yellowing of broccoli during storage. The hydrogen peroxide content increased immediately after EAWP treatment but then remained at a low level during storage. Catalase (CAT) activity increased rapidly with EAWP treatment and was higher than that in the control for the first 4 days of storage. The BoCAT gene expression level with EAWP treatment also showed a high trend as compared to the control. The gene expressions of BoRboh, BoCu/ZnSOD, and BoAPX showed almost the same tendency with or without EAWP treatment. These findings suggested that hydrogen peroxide formed by EAWP treatment and regulated by CAT could be relevant to maintaining the quality of broccoli.