COLD-CONDITIONING TREATMENT REDUCES CHILLING INJURY IN MEXICAN LIMES (CITRUS AURANTIFOLIA S.) STORED AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES FERNANDO RIVERA 1,2 , CLARA PELAYO-ZALDIVAR 3 , FERNANDO DÍAZ DE LEÓN 2 , BEATRIZ BUENTELLO 2 , MANUEL CASTILLO-RIVERA 4 and LAURA J. PÉREZ-FLORES 2,5 1 Experimental Biology PhD Program 2 Department of Health Sciences 3 Department of Biotechnology 4 Department of Biology Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Campus Iztapalapa San Rafael Atlixco 186. Col. Vicentina Iztapalapa, C. P. 09340 México D.F., México Accepted for Publication November 7, 2006 ABSTRACT Induction of different antioxidant enzymes by high and low temperatures prior to storage has been reported to produce tolerance to chilling injury (CI). Thus, different prestorage temperatures have been suggested to decrease CI in citrus fruits. In this work, the effectiveness of a cold-conditioning treatment (13C for 48 h) to prevent CI was evaluated in Mexican limes (Citrus auranti- folia S.) stored at 4, 10 and 25C, and 90% relative humidity. Cold conditioning reduced 1.6-fold CI symptoms, induced a significant increase of 2.2-fold per- oxidase activity and maintained the activity of superoxide dismutase in limes kept at 4C. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of the cold-conditioning treatment in increasing chilling tolerance in Mexican limes depends on the induction or maintenance of antioxidant enzymatic systems during the entire storage period. 5 Corresponding author. TEL: 55-5804-6481; FAX: 55-5804-4727; EMAIL: ljpf@xanum.uam.mx Journal of Food Quality 30 (2007) 121–134. All Rights Reserved. © 2007, The Author(s) Journal compilation © 2007, Blackwell Publishing 121