Hot air treatment alleviates chilling injury of sweet potato tuberous roots by regulating osmoregulatory substances and inducing antioxidant defense system.

Sweet potato tuberous roots are susceptible to chilling injury (CI) when stored below 10 °C. In this study, we investigated the mitigating effects of hot air (HA) treatment on CI. Results showed that HA45°C-3h treatment delayed the CI and internal browning during cold storage. After HA45°C-3h treatment, the cells' structural integrity was maintained, malondialdehyde accumulation and ion leakage were inhibited. Additionally, the osmoregulatory substances, such as total soluble solids, proline were maintained, and soluble protein was enhanced. Higher activity of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and glutathione reductase, and the antioxidant substances including ascorbic acid, glutathione, total phenols, and flavonoids were observed in sweet potato tuberous roots treated by HA45°C-3h than untreated group. Our study suggested that HA45°C-3h treatment could reduce CI and maintain a better quality of sweet potato tuberous roots following cold storage.