Putrescine accumulation in banana fruit with ripening during storage.

Abstract Considerable accumulation of the free polyamine, putrescine (Put), was found in both pulp and peel tissue of unchilled and rewarmed bananas ( Musa AAA group) during normal fruit ripening with climacteric ethylene production, while free Put remained at the original level in continuously chilled fruit. The bound Put content in both tissues of the unchilled and rewarmed fruits increased ca 3–10 fold. No competitive relationship was observed between Put and ethylene production in the banana fruit. © 1997 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved