POSTHARVEST BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES IN APPLE SAMPLES

Apples are seasonal fruits, and it is relevant to prepare them adequately for storage and ensure proper storage conditions. In this study, we used ‘Rubin’ apple cultivar. We studied the qualitative and quantitative composition of phenolic and triterpenic compounds in the apple before placing them in the controlled atmosphere chambers and against at the end of the experiment, eight months later. Different concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, constant temperature, relative humidity, and removal of endogenous ethylene were continually maintained. HPLC analysis showed that in the apple samples stored of variant II (5 % - O2, 1 % - CO2, 94 % - N2) conditions the total amount of triterpenes changed the least, dropped by 20 %. The study showed that the total content of phenolic compounds has increased in apple samples stored under controlled atmospheric conditions. The highest content of phenolic compounds increased in apple samples stored under IV (5 % - O2, 5 % - CO2, 90 % - N2) conditions. Evaluating the optimal storage parameters is useful to providing the consumers with apples that have a known and minimally altered phytochemical composition of phenolic compounds and triterpenes, which estimate the use of apples in the healthy food chain.