Chinese olive (Canarium album) fruit quality affected by melatonin treatment

Chinese olive (Canarium album) fruit contained excellent nutrional value with various functional elements effectively contributing to human health. There was an increasing demand of fruit preservation for long-term production even in offseason. Melatonin was an active substance derived from living organisms. This research was executed to evaluate the impact of melatonin dipping treatments (0-1.0 mM) to the physicochemical properties (weight loss, fruit firmness, total soluble solid, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content, total starch content), ripening-associated enzymes (pectin methyl esterase activity, polygalacturonase activity, cellulase activity), antioxidant-associated enzymes (peroxidase activity, catalase activity, super-oxide dismutase activity), chilling injury and shelf-life of the preserved fruit. Results showed that 0.8 mM melatonin was adequate to maintain fruit quality attributes during cool storage.