Ozone washing decreases strawberry susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea while maintaining antioxidant, optical and sensory quality

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of ozone washing (maximum concentration 3.5 mgL^-1- 5 and 15 min) on <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> decay, physicochemical parameters, bioactive compounds, <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> antioxidant activity, and sensory properties of strawberries cv. Albion throughout refrigerated storage at 5 ± 1 °C. A 5 min long ozonation delayed the onset of <i>B. cinerea</i> infection by 4 days, and significantly reduced its incidence as storage progressed (~17 % lesser than in control at day 8), without impairing physicochemical parameters or sensory quality. This treatment did not affect the antioxidant activity of strawberry extracts neither in <i>in vitro</i> (ORAC and ABTS assays) or <i>in vivo</i> assays using <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> as a model organism. Higher ozone doses did not achieve greater reduction of <i>B. cinerea</i> decay throughout the storage period. This study demonstrated that exposing strawberries to a 5 min long aqueous ozone treatment could extend their storability at 5 °C.