Abstract:

Strawberry fades during storage and transportation, and the anthocyanin content gradually decreases. To study the effects of light application time, temperature, pH and metal ions on anthocyanins of strawberry, and explore suitable processing and storage conditions, four reaction conditions were set under the same anthocyanin content, and the effects of light application time, temperature, pH, and metal ions on strawberry anthocyanins were discussed. When strawberry anthocyanins were exposed to natural light for 8 hours, the absorbance value was decreased by 25%. When the temperature was higher than 60℃, the absorbance value was decreased by 67%. When pH>7, the absorbance value was decreased by 85%. The measured absorbance values of the pigment extract after adding Na⁺ and Mg²⁺ were kept at about 0.070 and 0.050 after reacting for 2 h, while the absorbance value measured after adding Fe³⁺ was decreased by 87%. Experimental results show that strawberries should be protected from light, under low temperature and acidic condition, and avoid contacting with iron products during storage and transportation.

Key words: Strawberry, Anthocyanin, Light, Temperature, pH, Metal Ions