PHYTOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF MINIMALLY PROCESSED “ACCO” POMEGRANATE ARILS AS AFFECTED BY PERFORATION-MEDIATED MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING UMEZURUIKE LINUS OPARA, 1,2,3 ZAHARAN HUSSEIN 1 and OLUWAFEMI J. CALEB 1,2 * 1 Postharvest Technology Research Laboratory, South African Research Chair in Postharvest Technology, Department of Food Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa 2 Postharvest Technology Research Laboratory, South African Research Chair in Postharvest Technology, Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa 3 Corresponding author. TEL: 1 27 (0) 218089242; FAX: 1 27 (0) 21 808 3743; EMAIL: opara@sun.ac.za *Current address: Department of Horticultural Engineering, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering (ATB), Max-Eyth-Allee 100, D-14469, Potsdam, Germany. Received for Publication October 15, 2015 Accepted for Publication February 12, 2016 doi:10.1111/jfpp.12948 ABSTRACT The effects of perforation-mediated modified atmosphere packaging (PM-MAP) on the phytochemicals and antioxidant properties of freshly processed pomegran- ate arils (cv. Acco) stored at 5C for 15 days were investigated. Perforations 0, 3, 6 and 9 (P-0, P-3, P-6 and P-9, respectively) were made on the polymeric film (POLYLID 107 polyethylene) and non-perforated (P-0) and clamshell trays were control. Total anthocyanins content increased slightly across all treatments and arils packed in P-6 had the highest content of 49.2 6 0.71 mg C3gE/100 mL. Ascorbic acid content decreased significantly across all treatments (P < 0.05) compared to the initial value (15.3 6 0.13 mg AA/100 mL) prior to storage. A threefold increase in antioxidant capacity was observed at the end of storage when tested against ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) initial value of 43.52 6 0.73 mM TE/mL. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The role of antioxidant properties and phytochemical in fruit in reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases is well established in the literature. Conventional modified atmosphere packaging systems could reduce produce quality attributes due to sub-optimal in-package gas composition. There is a growing interest in package optimization to maintain the sensory and nutritional quality of fresh or fresh-cut fruits. This study had demonstrated that the application of perforation- mediated modified atmosphere packaging retains the bioactive components of fresh pomegranate arils. INTRODUCTION Postharvest shelf-life of minimally processed fruits and vegeta- bles has been traditionally defined by a number of physico- chemical quality attributes such as color, firmness, juiciness, absence of decay, pH, titratable acidity and total soluble sugars (Ayala-Zavala et al. 2004; Caleb et al. 2013a; Opara et al. 2009). However, phytonutrients and bioactive components such as anthocyanins, phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity are increasingly becoming important quality determining attrib- ute of fresh produce (Ayala-Zavala et al . 2004; Lutz et al. 2011). The role of postharvest storage technology is to manipulate metabolism of fresh produce during storage for the purpose of extending produce shelf-life (Kalt et al. 1999). However, changes in metabolic activities during postharvest storage may affect the content of phytonutrient and their constitutive antioxidant activity during this period (Shiri et al. 2011). In this regard, it is essential to evaluate changes phytochemicals and antioxidants attributes during storage of minimally processed produce. Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruit is characterized by high content of phytochemicals and antioxidants with 1 Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 00 (2016) 00–00 V C 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation ISSN 1745-4549