Author(s): H. SINGH, N. SINGH, A. MARATHE AND J. UGALAT

Abstract: Aril browning (AB) is one of the major physiological problems of pomegranate, resulting in diminution of quality and commercial value of the fruits. The present study was taken up to investigate the biochemical changes in pulp and seed of aril browning affected fruit in comparison with healthy fruits. Biochemical studies revealed that AB affected aril had higher total sugars (84.45 mg g-1 fresh weight of tissue), reducing sugar (53.40 mg g-1 fresh weight of tissue), TSS (16.3%) and starch (194.96 mg g-1 of tissue dry weight) as compared to healthy aril. Whereas, protein content was lower in AB affected seeds (6.92 mg g-1 FW of tissue) as compared to healthy seeds (7.832 mg g-1 FW of tissue). There was a gradual decrease in anthocyanin (from 0.53 to 0.33 mg 100-1 g) and total phenol content (from 141.25 to 109.70 mg 100-1 g) with the increase in intensity of browning. AB affected seeds showed reduced activities of enzyme like amylase (7.36 mg maltose liberated h-1 g-1 of protein) and total dehydrogenase (1.44 ΔA485 g-1 fresh weight of tissue), in contrast to this there was increased activity of enzyme polyphenol oxidase (0.0063 ΔA412 mg-1 protein min-1) as compared to seed of healthy aril.

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