Changes in the mesocarp of Annona cherimola Mill. ‘Madeira’ during postharvest ripening

• Physicochemical changes during postharvest ripening of cherimoya ‘Madeira’ were investigated.
• Major chemical changes were the breakdown of starch and the reduction of fatty acids.
• Starch was partially converted to free sugars and into organic acids.
• Glucose was the predominant sugar in the mesocarp of cherimoya ‘Madeira’.
• Cherimoya ‘Madeira’ is an excellent nutrient resource.

Physicochemical changes during postharvest ripening of cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill. ‘Madeira’), were investigated to follow the principal modifications occurring during this process and to determine nutritional value. Fruit harvested at the mature green stage were analyzed during ripening using standard methods. Significant (P < 0.05) changes in chlorophyll, starch, titratable acidity, total free sugars and uronic acids were obtained, but no significant changes were found in ash, protein, lignin and lipid contents during ripening. The most obvious changes were chlorophyll degradation, an accentuated decrease of starch and an increase in total free sugars, with glucose the predominant sugar in the mesocarp, as revealed by GC analyses. Firmness loss was mainly attributed to depolymerization of pectin and lipid deterioration rather than hemicellulose degradation. Results also showed that the cherimoya variety evaluated in this study is a good source of minerals (mainly potassium), palmitic acid, linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid and sitosterol.