Effect of post-harvest oxalic and citric acid treatments on bioactive and quality properties of cherry fruits

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of post-harvest applications of 1 mM oxalic acid, 1 mM citric acid and a combination of both on quality and bioactive properties of sweet cherry fruits. The 0900 Ziraat cultivar was harvested from Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye. Fruits were divided into 250 g samples with three replications and stored at 1 °C and 90% relative humidity for 30 days. At 10 day intervals, physical, chemical and biochemical parameters were analyzed, including weight loss, decay rate, fruit firmness, soluble solids content (SSC), pH, titratable acidity (TA), color attributes (L*, a*, b*, chroma, hue°), respiration rate, total phenolic content, DPPH scavenging activity and anthocyanin content. All treatments reduced quality losses during storage. The oxalic & citric acid combination was the most effective, providing the lowest weight loss and decay rates and highest retention of firmness, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. The findings demonstrated that post-harvest organic acid applications improve storage performance and help preserve the commercial quality of sweet cherry fruits.