Hot air and UV-C treatments promote anthocyanin accumulation in peach fruit through their regulations of sugars and organic acids

Abstract In our present study, we aimed to explore the effects of hot air and UV-C on anthocyanins and the interaction among anthocyanin, sucrose and organic acids in peaches during postharvest storage. Peaches were treated with hot air or UV-C and stored at 1 °C for 35 days. The results showed that both treatments significantly enhanced the accumulation of anthocyanins and suppressed the degradation of sucrose, citric and malic acids. An in vitro test verified that sucrose, citric and malic acid penetrated the tissue and then induced the biosynthesis of anthocyanins by up regulating anthocyanin-related enzymes. In addition, hot air and UV-C directly enhanced the activities and gene expression of related enzymes to promote the accumulation of anthocyanins. PAL, ANS and UFGT played crucial roles in the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in peach fruit after harvest, and these three enzymes can be stimulated by HA, UV-C, sucrose, citric and malic acid.