Cytokinin-based Food Preservation Solution

As a plant regulator, cytokinin participates in the regulation of fruit biochemical and physiological changes, and has potential application value in fruit preservation. Aprofood deeply explores the mechanism of action of cytokinins and is committed to providing comprehensive food preservation solutions to customers around the world.

Overview of Cytokinin

Cytokinins (CKs) are a unique class of plant growth regulators (PGRs) with a long and interesting history. Their existence as compounds capable of inducing cell division in cultured plant tissue was first documented more than 100 years ago. As more and more compounds with CK-like effects have been discovered in plants to date, CKs are therefore broadly classified as natural (purine-like molecules, i.e. isoprenoids or aromatic CKs) or synthetic CKs, i.e. urea-like. CK is considered to have potential effects in the entire plant life process from embryogenesis to death in lower and higher plants, and they are directly or indirectly involved in different plant physiological processes, such as seed germination, regulation of shoot elongation and proliferation, flowering, results and the induction of fruiting and senescence. In particular, their role in fruit set, delaying the aging process including fruit ripening and defoliation.

Fig.1 Chemical structures of cytokinins (CKs) used in propagation, preharvest, and postharvest stages during the production of some common horticultural fruit crops. (Aremu, et al., 2020)

Application of Cytokinin in Fruit Preservation

Physiological barriers such as peel browning, chilling damage, bitter pit, fragmentation and cracking reduce fruit quality, commercial acceptability and shelf life. Peel browning is a major postharvest problem for many fruits, mainly due to drying of the peel and degradation of anthocyanin pigments and oxidation of phenolic compounds. CKs have antioxidant-enhancing compounds (such as ascorbic acid/ascorbate (AsA) and glutathione) and enzymes (such as SOD, catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX)), which inhibit the deterioration of fruit quality during storage. Furthermore, pre-harvest application of CKs is not only beneficial during fruit development, it may also have potential effects related to post-harvest performance. For example, preharvest application of CKs effectively reduced the weight loss of kiwifruit by 33% and extended the storage period by 2 months. Therefore, CKs are effective in controlling damage to fruit structure and prolonging its shelf life.

Fig. 2 The role of cytokinin in fruit preservation. (Aremu, et al., 2020)

Our Solutions

Aprofood delves into the mechanism of action of cytokinins and applies them to fruit preservation. With our rich experience and expertise, we have the ability to provide global customers with a full range of food preservation solutions based on cytokinin regulatory mechanisms.

We focus on the various mechanisms involved in the regulation of cytokinins, and have the ability to provide customers with a full range of research support, including but not limited to:

• Pre-harvest stage:

• Effect of cytokinins on flower and fruit development.
• Effect of cytokinins on fruit resistance to abiotic stresses (humidity, salinity, drought, etc.).
• Effect of cytokinins on fruit quality (biochemical and physiological changes) and yield.

• Post-harvest stage:

Cytokinins can also be formulated with a variety of phytohormones, allowing for a variety of formulation customizations in our solutions. In addition, cytokinin can be used in combination with various biological, chemical and physical methods for fruit preservation according to the customer's project requirements.

Our Advantages

Multiple phytohormone options

Experienced in fruit preservation

Combining multiple methods

Solutions can be customized

Aprofood is committed to providing extensive support to customers around the world in food preservation related research, please contact us to learn more about our solutions!

References

1. Aremu, A. O., Fawole, O. A., Makunga, N. P., Masondo, N. A., Moyo, M., Buthelezi, N., Amoo, S. O., Spíchal, L., & Doležal, K. (2020). Applications of Cytokinins in Horticultural Fruit Crops: Trends and Future Prospects. Biomolecules, 10(9), 1222.
2. Wani, S.H., Kumar, V., Shriram, V., & Sah, S.K. (2016). Phytohormones and their metabolic engineering for abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. Crop Journal, 4, 162-176.