Hexanal treatment for improving the shelf-life and quality of fruits: a review


Citation

Aidil Hakim Azhar, . and Mohd Sabri Pak Dek, . and Nurul Shazini Ramli, . and Yaya Rukayadi, . and Median, Ahmed and Nurmahani Mohd Maidin, . (2024) Hexanal treatment for improving the shelf-life and quality of fruits: a review. Pertanika Journal Tropical Agricultural Science (Malaysia), 47 (1). 289 -305. ISSN 1511-3701

Abstract

Fruits are rich sources of bioactive compounds such as lycopene, tannins, β-carotene, resveratrol, and lignan. These bioactive compounds’ antioxidative, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic properties are important in the human diet. Since fruits are one of the major sources of health-promoting nutrients for human consumption, they have high economic value. Ripening is a developmental process which involves changes in the colour, texture, taste, and metabolite composition of fruits, thus affecting their quality. In the market, the good quality of fruits depends on the ripening stage. Rapid ripening could shorten the shelf-life and quality of fruits. Shortened shelf-life causes fruit spoilage during post-harvest, transport, storage, and distribution. In turn, it will cause economic losses in the fruit market. Low-temperature storage is one of the techniques to prolong the shelf-life of fruits. However, this technique requires an expensive facility to achieve and maintain the low temperature. On the other hand, it has been reported that hexanal treatment could prolong the shelf-life and quality of fruits. It is also cheaper and easier to apply. However, the ripening inhibition mechanism of hexanal is not yet fully understood. The effectiveness of hexanal treatment on different fruits is also unclear. Numerous publications on hexanal treatment reported different formulations, techniques, and effectiveness rates on different fruits. Optimised formulation and technique are important to develop an efficient hexanal treatment strategy. Therefore, the mechanism, effectiveness, formulation, technique, and development of hexanal-based products to prolong the shelf-life of fruits are discussed in this review.


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Abstract

Fruits are rich sources of bioactive compounds such as lycopene, tannins, β-carotene, resveratrol, and lignan. These bioactive compounds’ antioxidative, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic properties are important in the human diet. Since fruits are one of the major sources of health-promoting nutrients for human consumption, they have high economic value. Ripening is a developmental process which involves changes in the colour, texture, taste, and metabolite composition of fruits, thus affecting their quality. In the market, the good quality of fruits depends on the ripening stage. Rapid ripening could shorten the shelf-life and quality of fruits. Shortened shelf-life causes fruit spoilage during post-harvest, transport, storage, and distribution. In turn, it will cause economic losses in the fruit market. Low-temperature storage is one of the techniques to prolong the shelf-life of fruits. However, this technique requires an expensive facility to achieve and maintain the low temperature. On the other hand, it has been reported that hexanal treatment could prolong the shelf-life and quality of fruits. It is also cheaper and easier to apply. However, the ripening inhibition mechanism of hexanal is not yet fully understood. The effectiveness of hexanal treatment on different fruits is also unclear. Numerous publications on hexanal treatment reported different formulations, techniques, and effectiveness rates on different fruits. Optimised formulation and technique are important to develop an efficient hexanal treatment strategy. Therefore, the mechanism, effectiveness, formulation, technique, and development of hexanal-based products to prolong the shelf-life of fruits are discussed in this review.

Additional Metadata

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Item Type: Article
AGROVOC Term: fruits
AGROVOC Term: bioactive compounds
AGROVOC Term: carotenoids
AGROVOC Term: phenolic compounds
AGROVOC Term: antioxidants
AGROVOC Term: keeping quality
AGROVOC Term: postharvest technology
AGROVOC Term: inhibition
Geographical Term: Malaysia
Uncontrolled Keywords: antimicrobial, biosafety, hexanal, phospholipase D, post-harvest, ripening, shelf-life
Depositing User: Ms. Azariah Hashim
Date Deposited: 21 Nov 2025 09:58
Last Modified: 21 Nov 2025 09:58
URI: http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/2740

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