Abstract:

The paper aims to determine the optimal time for Canarium album to stay fresh, and to evaluate the feasibility of olive fruit tree preservation technology. Using ‘Xi No.1’ olive fruit in the season (harvested in November) and preserved fruit (picked in December, January, and April) as test materials, a total of 24 indicators of amino acids (cysteine, glutamic acid, lysine, proline and hydroxyproline), nutritional components (tannins, ascorbic acid, cellulose, water-soluble pectin, total sugar, sucrose and reducing sugars), functional components (proantho cyanidins, flavonoids, total phenols and total antioxidant capacity) and enzyme activity (acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, carboxylates, peroxidases, catalases, polyphenol oxidases, acetylcholinesterase and superoxide dismutase) in the samples were determined by micro method. There were no significant difference in 24 indexes of ‘Xi No.1’ olive preserved for one month compared with that of picked in normal season (P>0.05). After two months of storage, the contents of cysteine, tannin, cellulose, proantho cyanidins, flavonoids, total antioxidant capacity, acid phosphatase, carboxylesterase, and peroxidase were significantly decreased (P<0.05), while the contents of ascorbic acid and water-soluble pectin were significantly increased (P<0.05), and other indexes had no significant changes. The contents of ascorbic acid, water-soluble pectin, alkaline phosphatase, and superoxide dismutase were significantly increased (P<0.05) after 5 months of tree preservation, while 19 indexes except proline were significantly decreased. The Canarium album of ‘Xi No.1’ can be kept fresh on tree for one month, and its fruit quality is not significantly different from that harvested in normal season.

Key words: Canarium album, on-tree storage, fruit quality, fruit taste