Comparative Analysis of Chilling Injury in Banana Fruit During Storage: Physicochemical and Microstructural Changes, and Early Optical-Based Nondestructive Identification

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Chilling injury (CI) during postharvest storage seriously impairs bananas' quality and marketability. This study systematically investigated CI mechanisms through physicochemical, microstructural, and optical analyses and innovatively developed a hyperspectral imaging (HSI)-based approach for early CI detection. Bananas stored at suboptimal (7 °C) and optimal (13 °C) conditions exhibited distinct physicochemical changes. CI progression was related to increased browning symptoms, an abnormal moisture redistribution (reduced pulp moisture content), and delayed softening. Microstructural analysis revealed membrane destabilization, cellular lysis, intercellular cavity formation, and inhibited starch hydrolysis under chilling stress. Hyperspectral microscope imaging (HMI) captured chilling-induced spectral variations (400-1000 nm), enabling the t-SNE-based clustering of CI-affected tissues. Machine learning models using first derivative (1-st)-processed spectra achieved a high accuracy. Both PLS-DA and RF had a 99% calibration accuracy and 98.5% prediction accuracy for CI classification. Notably, HSI detected spectral signatures of early CI (2 days post-chilling treatment) before visible symptoms, achieving a 100% identification accuracy with an optimized PLS-DA combined with 1-st processing. This study provides a theoretical basis for studying fruit CI mechanisms and a novel nondestructive optical method for early CI monitoring in postharvest supply chains.

Source: Foods

DOI: 10.3390/foods14081319

Authors: Hui Ma, Lingmeng Hu, Jingyuan Zhao, Jie He, Anqi Wen, Daizhu Lv, Zhi Xu, Weijie Lan, Leiqing Pan

Institutions: Nanjing Agricultural University, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Analysis and Testing Centre

Language: English

Topic: Postharvest Quality and Shelf Life Management

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,499

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Key Research and Development Project of Hainan Province, National Key Research and Development Program of China

OpenAlex ID: W4409370635