Improvement of the antioxidant status of tropical fruits as a secondary response to some postharvest treatments

Tropical fruits production, trade and consumption have increased significantly due to their attractive sensory and nutrimental properties; nevertheless, their highly perishable nature limits their postharvest life. Postharvest treatments have been used to preserve quality of fresh produce and have been focused mainly on preserving freshness and avoid microbial growth. However, an improvement on the antioxidant system as a secondary response under certain adverse environmental and stress conditions has been observed, including some types of stress used as postharvest treatments. This review focuses on analyzing and proposing some possible mechanisms induced by postharvest treatments affecting the antioxidant status of treated tropical fruits.