López-Vidal1 O, H Escalona-Buendía2, C Pelayo-Zaldívar2, J Cruz-Salazar1, JM Villa-Hernández1, F Rivera-Cabrera1, O Villegas-Torres3, I Alia-Tejacal3, L J Pérez-Flores1, F Díaz de León-Sánchez1
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.83, pp. 185-192, 2014, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2014.83.185
Abstract During ripening, tomato fruit accumulates high levels of carotenoids. These compounds, besides their function as pigments, nutrients and antioxidants, are precursors of some important volatile compounds for the development of the characteristic aroma of these fruits. In the present work, the antioxidant capacity, lycopene and β-carotene levels, and the production of aromatic substances derived from the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway were analyzed in the tomato cultivar 7705 at different ripening stages. Results showed a significant (p<0.05) increase of lycopene and β-carotene (22.1 and 2.9 fold, respectively) from the mature green to the breaker stage. Lycopene levels… More >