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Updated: Aug 15, 2025

Herbivore-induced Blueberry Volatiles and Intra-plant Signaling
Published on: December 18, 2011
Physiological and biochemical changes during fruit maturation and ripening in highbush blueberry (Vaccinium
Junyan Shi1, Yuhang Xiao2, Chengli Jia2
1Department of Food Science and Engineering, College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Forest Food Processing and Safety, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; Key Laboratory of the Vegetable Postharvest Treatment of Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing Key Laboratory of Fruits and Vegetable Storage and Processing, Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China) of Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (North) of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agri-food Processing and Nutrition (IAPN), Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China.
Abstract:
The sweetness of blueberry fruit increases over time, as acids are converted to sugars, and full flavor development is formed by harvest. We comprehensively analyzed the changes and correlation in physiological and biochemical characteristics of blueberries at different maturity stages, including texture, quality, taste and energy change. Our analysis revealed that total anthocyanin content increased and firmness decreased as fruit ripened. Percent moisture, titratable acid (TA), chlorophyll and carotenoid content also decreased, while total soluble solids (TSS), pH, TSS/TA ratio, vitamin C, soluble proteins, and ethylene production all increased. Antioxidant enzyme activity gradually increased during ripening but energy-related metabolites decreased. The flavor attributes of sweetness, bitterness, and sourness were readily perceived using an electronic tongue and a total of 76 volatile compounds were detected by GC-MS. In summary, the maturation of blueberries was correlated with increases of anthocyanins, nutrients, antioxidant activity, taste and aroma, but negatively correlated with energy metabolism.
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