Effect of potassium permanganate on postharvest quality attributes of bitter gourd fruit

Authors

  • Pooja Belwal Department of Horticulture, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India Author
  • Anil K Singh Department of Horticulture, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India Author
  • Akhilesh K Pal Department of Horticulture, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India Author
  • Swati Sharma Division of Vegetable Production, ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India Author
  • Kalyan Barman Department of Horticulture, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61180/vegsci.2023.v50.i1.05

Keywords:

Bitter gourd, potassium permanganate, postharvest, shelf life.

Abstract

Bitter gourd is a widely consumed cucurbitaceous vegetable rich in several nutrients and phytochemicals. The fruit is also used in
traditional medicine systems to cure a variety of ailments. However, bitter gourd fruit has a very short postharvest life of 3-4 days at
ambient conditions, due to which it suffers significant loss after harvest. In the present study, with the aim to extend storage life, bitter
gourd fruits were packed in corrugated fiberboard boxes along with sachets of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) granules @ 1.0,
2.0 and 3.0 g per kilogram of fruit; while control fruits were packed without KMnO4 sachets. The results revealed that during 8 days of
storage at room temperature, fruits packed with 3.0 g/kg KMnO4 sachets had minimum deterioration in fruit quality compared to control, and also weight loss and decay loss was observed lowest. KMnO4 treated fruit @ 3.0 g/kg retained the highest chlorophyll  and lowest accumulation of carotenoid pigments in the fruit skin. These fruits also had maximum soluble solids, ascorbic acid, total
phenolics content, antioxidant capacity and minimum accumulation of malondialdehyde up to 8 days of storage than other treatments.

Published

2023-08-12

Issue

Section

Research Articles

How to Cite

Belwal, P., Singh, A. K., Pal, A. K., Sharma, S., & Barman, K. (2023). Effect of potassium permanganate on postharvest quality attributes of bitter gourd fruit. Vegetable Science, 50(01), 39-45. https://doi.org/10.61180/vegsci.2023.v50.i1.05

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