Red blush is one of the key quality markers of blood orange fruit (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck). Therefore, the influence of pre- (1, 2, and 3 mM) and postharvest (0.5, 1, and 1.5 mM) methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and salicylic acid (SA) (1, 2, and 3 mM) treatments on redness, colouring pigments, and health-promoting compounds in cold stored ‘Tarocco Ippolito’ blood oranges was investigated. Preharvest application of 3 mM MeJA significantly increased rind citrus colour index (CCI) by 43.3% and colorimetric coordinate a* (redness) by 3.1% and decreased h° (hue angle, 0 = red), L* (lightness), and b* (yellowness) by 13.7%, 12.6%, and 23.4%, respectively. This treatment also enhanced CCI (57.4%), reduced h° (16.5%) and L* (36.4%), and increased total anthocyanins (88%), monomeric anthocyanins (117%), and flavonoids (77%) in the juice. Postharvest dip of 1.5 mM MeJA (5 min) improved CCI of juice (53.6%) and a* (5.5%), reduced h° (15.9%), L* (19.8%), and b* (19.4%), and increased total anthocyanins (66.7%), monomeric anthocyanins (74%), and flavonoids (23.4%) in the juice. Preharvest application of 1 mM SA increased rind CCI (50.8%) and reduced L* (13.6%), b* (16.4%), and h° (29.5%). All preharvest SA treatments significantly increased total phenolics in the juice. Lycopene was increased (61.7%) by 5 min postharvest dip of 3 mM SA. In conclusion, 3 mM preharvest spray application of MeJA four weeks before harvest and postharvest dip of 1.5 mM MeJA (5 min) are effective in improving red colour of rind and juice and health-promoting compounds in blood orange juice.

Chilling injury (CI) hinders prolonged cold storage of mangoes ( Mangifera indica L.). Hence, the influence of postharvest aqueous ozonation (PAO) (1 mg ozone s ^− 1 ) of mature green ‘Kensington Pride’ mangoes for 10, 20 and 30 min preceding storage at 5 °C for 21 and 28 d on modulating CI, cell membrane integrity, ascorbate-glutathione (AsA-GSH) cycle, antioxidant enzymes and fruit quality were investigated. Compared to control, 10 min PAO significantly reduced CI index (62.5% and 42.9%), CI incidence (40.5% and 41.4%), weight loss (18.4% and 21.8%) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in peel (61.8% and 71.7%) in 21 and 28 d cold stored mangoes respectively. Lipoxygenase (LOX) activity was 71.2% and 43.6% lower under 30 min PAO preceding 21 and 28 d cold storage respectively. Hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) in pulp (65.3%, 53.8%, 69.2%) and peel (26.5%, 37.2%, 41.1%) were reduced by 10, 20 and 30 min PAO respectively. Moreover, PAO significantly enhanced the activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) and maintained fruit quality with no significant influence on the soluble solids content (SSC) and titratable acidity (TA). This study for the first time revealed that PAO extends both cold storage and shelf life of ‘Kensington Pride’ mangoes up to 28 d increasing the potential for distant market opportunities. Based on higher practicality and overall performance, 10 min PAO was selected as a feasible strategy for improving chilling tolerance in ‘Kensington Pride’ mangoes stored at 5 °C up to 28 d.

Cucurbitaceae is a major plant family within the kingdom Plantae , encompassing popular food crops such as zucchini, squash, pumpkins, and melons. With the growing interest in discovering novel bioactive peptides (BPs) from various plant sources, Cucurbitaceae crops have emerged as a popular candidate for isolating nutrient‐enriched peptides due to their diverse applications in the nutritional and pharmaceutical sectors, with experimentally evidenced antihypertensive, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties. However, current investigations are limited to a few economically important species and are seed‐centric within this family, with limited in vivo and clinical validations for their in vitro functional properties. In this review, we have summarized the peer‐reviewed original proteomic research and reviews, written in English, reported to date on peptide production from protein extraction to hydrolysis, identification, and functional characterization, as well as their industrial translation, excluding those without a standard functional validation. This work discusses and evaluates the applied protocols, limitations, and challenges in BP discovery and industrial utilization, highlighting understudied cucurbits as a potential source of novel BPs and insights into broadening future research scopes and providing opportunities aligned with plant‐derived peptide discovery.

Mangoes ( Mangifera indica L.) are notably susceptible to chilling injury (CI) when stored below 13 °C. This temperature threshold is too high for extended storage. Therefore, the influence of postharvest immersion in melatonin (MT) (50, 75, 100 µmol L ^− 1 ) for 120 min on CI in ‘Kensington Pride’ mangoes kept at 5 ± 1 °C for 21 or 28 d was investigated. The most effective MT concentration was 75 µmol L ^− 1 causing 36.3% reduction in CI incidence compared to control. To facilitate adoptability in commercial practice, the influence of 120 min vs. 5- and 3-min immersions in 75 µmol L ^− 1 MT was also tested. The highest efficacy in reducing CI was shown by mangoes immersed in 75 µmol L ^− 1 MT for 5 min with 52.2% and 38.6% lower CI incidence and CI index, respectively, than the control. This improved chilling tolerance in MT-treated mangoes was achieved through reduced hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) radicals, malondialdehyde (MDA) production, relative electrolyte leakage (REL) and lipoxygenase (LOX) activity while higher ascorbic acid (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, and activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR) and monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR). Fruit colour, soluble solids content (SSC), and titratable acidity (TA) were maintained in 75 µmol L ^− 1 MT treated fruit. MT was effective in reducing CI in mangoes up to 21 d at 5 ± 1 °C. Overall, immersing ‘Kensington Pride’ mangoes in 75 µmol L ^− 1 MT for 5 min before cold storage (5 ± 1 °C) shows high adoption potential to mitigate CI.