Fleshy fruits are characterized by having a developmentally and genetically controlled, highly intricate ripening process, leading to dramatic modifications in fruit size, texture, color, flavor, and aroma. Climacteric fruits such as tomato, pear, banana, and melon show a ripening-associated increase in respiration and ethylene production and these processes are well-documented. In contrast, the hormonal mechanism of fruit development and ripening in non-climacteric fruit, such as strawberry, grape, raspberry, and citrus, is not well characterized. However, recent studies have shown that non-climacteric fruit development and ripening, involves the coordinated action of different hormones, such as abscisic acid (ABA), auxin, gibberellins, ethylene, and others. In this review, we discuss and evaluate the recent research findings concerning the hormonal regulation of non-climacteric fruit development and ripening and their cross-talk by taking grape, strawberry, and raspberry as reference fruit species.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in studying food and its derived ingredients that can provide beneficial effects for human health. These studies are helping to understand the bases of the ancestral use of several natural products, including native fruits as functional foods. As a result, the polyphenol profile and the antioxidant capacity of the extracts obtained from different Patagonian native berries have been described. This review aims to provide valuable information regarding fruit quality, its particular compound profile, and the feasibility of producing functional foods for human consumption to prevent disorders such as metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. We also discuss attempts concerning the domestication of these species and generating knowledge that strengthens their potential as traditional fruits in the food market and as a natural heritage for future generations. Finally, additional efforts are still necessary to fully understand the potential beneficial effects of the consumption of these berries on human health, the application of suitable technology for postharvest improvement, and the generation of successfully processed foods derived from Patagonian berries.

The raspberry (Rubus idaeus) is an important fruit crop; however, its accelerated softening is a critical postharvest problem, even at low temperatures. Its softening has been partially associated with the endogenous production of ethylene from the receptacle during ripening. To understand the relationship between ethylene production and fruit quality at the beginning of the ripening process, the physiological and quality parameters were evaluated during the ripening of the ‘Heritage’ cultivar. Two storage assays, at 0 °C and 10 °C, were carried out with independent groups of fruits attached to their receptacle at the white stage of fruit development. The treatments included fruit treated with ethylene (1000 ppb) and ethylene perception inhibitor 1-methyl cyclopropene (1-MCP, 1600 ppb) and a control treatment. During ripening, the endogenous production of ethylene in whole fruit was negatively correlated with the loss of firmness. During storage at 0 °C, firmness and ethylene production only decreased by the effect of storage time, with a firmness near 1.5 Newtons at 16 days. On the other hand, the storage at 10 °C showed a delay in the firmness loss and lower ethylene production of the fruit treated with 1-MCP, compared to the control and ethylene-treated fruit. In addition, these two last assays showed a firmness close to 1 Newton at 5 days. No significant differences were observed in the total soluble solids content and titratable acidity between the three treatments at the two storage temperatures. The results during ripening and storage at 10 °C indicate that the loss of the fruit’s firmness is positively related to the endogenous ethylene production of the whole fruit from 1 to 5 days of storage. Future assays should be performed to determine the role of ethylene in raspberry ripening.

Arrayan and peumo fruits are commonly used in the traditional medicine of Chile. In this study, the concentration of the extracts halving the bacterial viability and biofilms formation and disruption of the drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was determined. The chemical composition of extracts was analyzed by high-resolution liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (U-HPLC/MS). The arrayan extract (Inhibitory concentration IC₅₀ 0.35 ± 0.01 mg/mL) was more effective than peumo extract (IC₅₀ 0.53 ± 0.02 mg/mL) in the inhibition of S. aureus planktonic cells. Similarly, the arrayan extract was more effective in inhibiting the adhesion (S. aureus IC₅₀ 0.23 ± 0.02 mg/mL, P. aeruginosa IC₅₀ 0.29 ± 0.02 mg/mL) than peumo extracts (S. aureus IC₅₀ 0.47 ± 0.03 mg/mL, P. aeruginosa IC₅₀ 0.35 ± 0.01 mg/mL). Both extracts inhibited quorum sensing in a concentration-dependent manner, and the most significant was the autoinducer-2 type communication inhibition by arrayan extract. Both extracts also disrupted preformed biofilm of P. aeruginosa (arrayan IC₅₀ 0.56 ± 0.04 mg/mL, peumo IC₅₀ 0.59 ± 0.04 mg/mL). However, neither arrayan nor peumo extracts disrupted S. aureus mature biofilm. U-HPLC/MS showed that both fruit extracts mainly possessed quercetin compounds; the peumo fruit extract also contained phenolic acids and phenylpropanoids. Our results suggested that both extracts could be used as natural antimicrobials for some skin and nosocomial infections.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a non-climacteric fruit with a high antioxidant content in arils and peels, of which 92% are anthocyanins and tannins. However, it is susceptible to chilling injury (CI), a physiological disorder concentrated in the peel, which can affect the organoleptic quality of the fruit. To understand the effects of modified atmosphere and ethylene in responses to stress on the antioxidant quality of the fruit and composition of fatty acids in the peel under CI conditions, the exogenous ethylene treatments (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 μg L^–1), 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP; 1 μl L^–1), modified atmosphere packaging (MAP: XTend™ bags), combined strategy MAP/1-MCP, and package in macroperforated bags (MPB-control treatment) were evaluated. The assay was performed in cold conditions (2 ± 1°C; 85% RH) to stimulate damage and was sampled for 120 days (+3 days at 20°C). During cold storage, CI symptoms began at 20 days in MPB and at 60 days for all treatments with exogenous ethylene; CI symptoms were delayed up to 120 days in MAP, 1-MCP, and the combined MAP/1-MCP treatment. Damage was concentrated in the peel. Ethylene and MPB-control treatments induced significant electrolyte leakage, lipid peroxidation, and oxidative damage. In contrast, MAP alone or in combination with 1-MCP successfully delayed CI symptoms. However, no significant differences were observed between treatments in fatty acid content, e.g., in the peel, oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, but a significant loss was noted after 60 days of storage. Cold storage caused an increase in anthocyanin concentration in the peel and arils, increasing up to 12 times in the peel of the fruit treated with ethylene at the final stage of storage (120 days + 3 days at 20°C), with non-significant differences in the tannin content in the peel. During long-term cold storage of pomegranate, MAP and 1-MCP treatments delay and reduce the appearance of CI symptoms. This long cold storage induces an important decrease in the unsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio, which is not reversed by any postharvest treatment. A higher unsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio after 1-MCP treatments showed a protective effect in peel tissues. In addition, it was possible to increase the concentration of anthocyanins in the peel of cold-storage pomegranates treated with ethylene.