Effects of glutathione on the ripening quality of strawberry fruits

Strawberries are popular because of their sweetness, rich nutrition, and significant health benefits. However, in the actual production and cultivation, the ripening and aging cycle of strawberry is short, especially in spring and summer. The ripening and softening process of strawberry due to temperature and light conditions is rapid, resulting in poor fruit quality and flavor. Therefore, the quality of ABA of strawberry fruit ripening is studied. The content and the influence of the antioxidant system are of great significance. In this experiment, the effect of exogenous glutathione on the regulation of strawberry fruit ripening was studied by injecting 100 mM glutathione solution into the light green stage fruit. The results of the study showed that there was no significant change in the maturity-related parameters of the treated group compared with the control. The main antioxidants, total flavonoids and ascorbic acid content also increased, antioxidant capacity increased, and only the total phenolic content decreased slightly. In addition, in the early stage of fruit growth, ABA content was significantly higher than the control, but decreased in the later stage, slightly lower than the control. The results of this experiment indicated that the application of appropriate concentration of glutathione solution during the cultivation process could not significantly change the strawberry fruit ripening index, but could increase the content of endogenous antioxidants and improve the antioxidant capacity of strawberry. The increase of ABA content may be due to the decrease of active oxygen content, the stress mechanism inside the fruit, and the increase of ABA content to induce H₂O₂ to maintain the redox balance in the fruit.