Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences

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Chemical and nutritional quality changes of tomato during postharvest

transportation and storage
Mai Al-Dairi a, Pankaj B. Pathare a,⇑, Rashid Al-Yahyai b
a
Department of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
b
Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Transportation over longer distances could accelerate the chemical changes of fresh produce. Moreover,
Received 10 March 2021 fresh produce quality is also influenced by temperature conditions during storage. The present study
Revised 22 April 2021 aims to explore the postharvest quality chemical and nutritional changes in tomatoes as affected by
Accepted 13 May 2021
transportation distance and storage conditions. Tomato fruit was transported from a local farm to three
Available online xxxx
distances (100, 154, and 205 km) and delivered to the laboratory to undergo chemical and nutritional
quality analysis. Tomatoes were stored at two storage temperature conditions at10°C (95 ± 1% relative
Keywords:
humidity) and 22 °C (65 ± 5% relative humidity) for 12 days. To record all vibration data signals, a 3-
Lycopene
Vibration
Axis USB vibration/acceleration data logger was used during transportation. The changes in chemical
Total soluble solid properties of tomato including total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), sugar:acid ratio (TSS:
Titratable acidity TA), and pH were measured. Furthermore, nutritional changes (i.e., total lycopene and carotenoids) were
Temperature determined. Vibration data results recorded 41% of acceleration occurrence in the range interval of
0.0099 -0.0116 m/s2 in the longest distance of road travel. Chemical quality indicators like total soluble
solids and sugar/acid ratio were mostly affected (p < 0.05) by storage condition and duration but not
(p > 0.05) by transportation distance. However, TA was significantly affected by all investigated factors
and was lower (0.25%) in tomatoes transported from the farthest distance compared to medium and
shortest distances (0.26%) stored at 22 °C. Lycopene and carotenoids were highly affected by all studied
factors. The highest amount of lycopene and carotenoids was observed in tomato transported from a long
distance and stored at 22 °C on day12 with 1.21 and 1.55 mg.100 g
1 FW, respectively. The temperature
during storage and long-distance transportation is critical in reducing postharvest chemical and nutri-
tional quality losses of tomatoes.
Ó 2021 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an
open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction (Paternoster et al., 2018). Vibration can accelerate the physiologi-

Transportation is one of the crucial phases in the postharvest
supply chain, where fresh produce is distributed from the harvest-
ing process to the consumers (Springael et al., 2018; Xu et al.,
2020). Despite the benefits generated from transportation, the
vibration produced on this operation is classified as a significant
contributor to the decrease in the quality of products
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: pankaj@squ.edu.om (P.B. Pathare).
Peer review under responsibility of King Saud University.
Production and hosting by Elsevier
cal and biochemical reactions of fresh produce (Tao et al., 2020).
Besides, vibration causes different internal and external damages
to fresh produce (Wei et al., 2019). Unlike external deterioration,
internal damage is highly difficult to identify by consumers (Li
et al., 2013). The damage generated during transportation can
influence sugar and acid content, ripening, core breakdown, and
the firmness state of fresh fruit and vegetables (Wei et al., 2019).
Thus, resulted in the appearance of short shelf life phenomena
and huge damage rate of the products which are all lead to high
economic losses (Zhou and Wu, 2018).
Vibration level during transportation can be affected by trans-
portation distance and vibration duration (Çakmak et al., 2010).
As transport distance and duration increased, more vibration can
be obtained, thus, reduce fresh produce quality during transporta-
tion (Fernando et al., 2019; Fernando et al., 2018). Chemical quality
changes like total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2021.05.001
1658-077X/Ó 2021 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article as: M. Al-Dairi, P.B. Pathare and R. Al-Yahyai, Chemical and nutritional quality changes of tomato during postharvest transportation
and storage, Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2021.05.001
M. Al-Dairi, P.B. Pathare and R. Al-Yahyai
pH were also observed on different fresh produce owing to vibra-
tion has been also demonstrated for peach (Dagdelen and Aday,
2021), strawberry (Chaiwong and Bishop, 2015), apple (Lu et al.,
2019; Walkowiak-Tomczak et al., 2021), grape (Jung et al., 2018),
tomato (Al-Dairi et al., 2021b) and mushroom (Tao et al., 2020;
Walkowiak-Tomczak et al., 2020).
Storage temperature is another process that needs to be consid-
ered during the postharvest supply chain (Arah et al., 2015) which
can be utilized to maintain the postharvest quality of fresh pro-
duce. Most fruits and vegetables quality parameters are highly
time and temperature-storage-dependent (Cherono et al., 2018).
Low-temperature storage is the most significant factor in extend-
ing the shelf-life and maintaining the quality of fresh produce
due to the inhibition of metabolic activities. However, a high
increase in temperature could increase the rate of respiration, tran-
spiration, and ethylene production, therefore, the storage life of the
produce progressively decreased (Al-Dairi and Pathare, 2021).
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) is consumed worldwide as
fresh and healthy produce. It plays an essential role in the human
diet due to the availability of high-functioning constituent com-
pounds like lycopene and ß-carotenes (Al-Dairi et al., 2021a).
Tomato is a climacteric, sensitive, and perishable fresh produce
(Cui et al., 2018) that is easily influenced by abnormal treatments,
storage (Kabir et al., 2020), and vibration during transportation
(Wu and Wang, 2014). During transportation, vibration causes
the fresh tomato to rub and rotate against other tomato and pack-
aging units causing damages and softening (Idah et al., 2012). Sol-
uble sugar and organic acids are some of the major components
associated with the flavor of fresh tomato. Acids contents of
tomato could be affected by postharvest operations like trans-
portation and storage. Furthermore, storage can highly influence
Fig. 1. The experimental design of the study.
2
Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx
the nutritive quality changes in tomatoes like lycopene as it tends
to accumulate at a higher temperature (Cherono and Workneh,
2018). Generally, long transportation duration and poor storage
temperature management of tomatoes are playing a great role in
accelerating the enzymes and metabolic processes which therefore
affect the chemical and nutritive quality attributes of tomatoes.
Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the influence of dif-
ferent transportation distances as well as storage temperature for
12 days in tomato quality including total soluble solids (TSS),
titratable acidity (TA), sugar acid ratio (TSS:TA), pH, total lycopene,
and total carotenoids.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Field experiments
A total of twenty-seven (27) wooden boxes
(400  300  110 mm) contain light red tomatoes (‘Miral‘ variety)
were purchased from a farm located in Al-Suwaiq, Sultanate of
Oman and transported to three multiple distances of the same road
condition (100 km, 154 km, and 205 km, short, medium, and long
distances, respectively) using a non-refrigerated pickup (Model:
Toyota, Thailand) to Postharvest Laboratory at Sultan Qaboos
University, Oman. The time required to transport tomatoes for
each distance was 75, 120, and 180 min for 100, 154, and
205 km, respectively (Fig. 1). The experiment was conducted in
the summer season of June 2020 where the temperature was rang-
ing from 29.96 to 41.88 °C.
To record the data of the collected vibration signals during
transportation, a 3-Axis USB vibration/acceleration data logger
M. Al-Dairi, P.B. Pathare and R. Al-Yahyai
(Model: OM-VIB-101, Spectris plc, USA) was used. The sensor was
placed in the top position of the tomato container (Ranathunga
et al., 2010; Soleimani and Ahmadi, 2014). The sensor recorded
vibration signals every 1 s of road transport. The obtained signals
were simplified and transformed later to a personal computer
where shock application (vibration data logger v2.3) for signals
analysis was performed. Each distance recorded thousands of
vibration signals in milligal (mg) which were later converted to
meter/square second (m/s2). Furthermore, vibration analysis was
also performed to assess the number of resulted time-domain
accelerations during transportation for each distance. The time-
domain signals above 0.0013 m/s2 were determined using a his-
togram that was applied to recognize the number of peaks during
the transportation of each distance.
2.2. Sample preparation and laboratory experiment
To study the effect of different transport distances and storage
on the chemical and nutritional characteristics (Fig. 1), a total of
195 fresh tomatoes transported from all three distances (65 toma-
toes per distance) which had similar weight, size, shape, and free
from bruise and misshapenness were directly chosen for the cur-
rent study analysis. Tomato fruit was divided and stored into two
main groups per distance. The first group stored at ambient condi-
tion (22 ± 1 °C with 65 ± 5% RH) and the other in recommended
cold temperature (10 ± 0.5 °C with 95 ± 1% RH). Within storage
conditions, tomatoes were further divided into seven subgroups
(five fruits each) and were used to determine chemical properties
(total soluble solids (TSS), Titratable acidity (TA), and pH) and
nutritional properties (Total lycopene and carotenoids). Quality
attributes parameters were collected at a two-day interval during
12 days of storage. For day 0 analysis, a total of 5 samples per dis-
tance were analyzed before storage. Temperature and relative
humidity were monitored for 12 days (daily) during storage using
a temperature meter (Model: TES 13604, TES Electrical Corp.,
Taiwan).
2.3. Chemical analysis
2.3.1. Total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), sugar-acid ratio,
and pH
Tomato juice was extracted by homogenizing 5 tomatoes from
each group (treatment) for 1 min at high speed using a food blen-
der (Model: LM2201, Moulinex, China) and then filtered using a
muslin cloth (Cherono et al., 2018). Total soluble solids (TSS) were
measured by using a digital refractometer (Model: PR-32 a, ATAGO
Co., Ltd, Japan). One to two drops of clear juice were placed on the
prism. Before use, the refractometer was standardized by adding
few drops of distilled water (0 °Brix TSS). Between each sample,
the prism was washed with distilled water. The resulted values
were expressed as °Brix. The titratable acidity (TA) of the tomato
was determined by the titration method explained by Teka
(2013). About 5 ml of the prepared tomato juice was taken and
diluted with 95 ml distilled water and phenolphthalein as an indi-
cator. TA of tomato juice was calculated by titrating 5 ml tomato
juice against 0.1 N NaOH. Titratable acidity was expressed as a per-
centage of citric acid and it was calculated by using the following
equation (Eq. (1)):
v ol:NaOHðmLÞ  0:1ðnormality of NaOHÞ  0:064
% Citric acid ¼
ðmL juice or g JuiceÞ
 100
ð1Þ
where 0.064 is the citric acid milliequivalent factor.
3
Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx
Sugar:acid ratio was calculated by dividing total soluble solid
(°Brix) to titratable acidity of the given sample under analysis as
described by Tigist et al. (2013). About 10 ml of the prepared
tomato juice was added into a 50 ml beaker and then the pH of
each juice sample was measured by using the electronic pH meter
(Model: EUTECH Cyberscan pH 11, Singapore) with a glass
electrode.
2.4. Nutritional analysis
2.4.1. Total lycopene and carotenoids
Total lycopene and carotenoids pigments were determined
using a spectrophotometer method as described by Munhuewyi
(2012). One gram of blended tomatoes was taken and then
extracted by grinding it in 14 ml hexane and acetone (3:2 v.v-1)
solution by using an Eppendorf centrifuge (Model: Sanyo MSE Har-
rier 18/80, Sanyo, Tokyo, Japan) at 10,000 relative centrifugal speed
for 10 min at 4 °C. The obtained supernatants were collected and
then filled out to 25 ml volume in addition to the extracted solu-
tion. UV/VI/NIR spectrophotometer (Model: Lambd900, PERKIN
ELMER, US) was used to determine the absorbance at (502 nm).
The following equations were used to calculate the total carote-
noids and lycopene:
OD502  4
Total Carotenoids ðlg:g
1 Þ ¼
mass of the sample ðgÞ
 1000 ð2Þ

OD502  3:12
Total lycopene lg:g
1 ¼  1000 ð3Þ
mass of the sample ðgÞ
Pigments (lycopene and carotenoids) were presented as
mg.100 g
1 of fresh weight.
2.5. Statistical analysis
All collected data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 (International
Business Machine Crop., USA). The results were expressed as
mean ± standard deviation (S.D). Three-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) was performed to determine the effect of independent
variables (storage condition, duration, and transport distances)
on the dependent variables (chemical and nutritional parameters),
at a 5% significance level (P < 0.05). To determine the significant
differences between treatment means, Tukey’s range (HSD) test
was applied. Furthermore, GraphPad Prism Software version 9.1.0
(GraphPad Software, Inc. San Diego, USA) was used to construct
quality parameters graphs for this study.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. Vibration level analysis during transit
Continuous lateral, vertical, and longitudinal acceleration sig-
nals were measured to determine vibration level during trans-
portation. Minimum and maximum values of obtained
acceleration were similar in all three travel distances (100, 154,
and 205 km) due to the non-stop measurements using the same
instrument during road travel. The transport experiment recorded
the maximum acceleration (0.0271 m/s2) generated from vertical
direction measurements followed by lateral and longitudinal direc-
tions with 0.0131 m/s2 and 0.0112 m/s2, respectively. Conse-
quently, all following analyses were completed using vertical
direction data. Similar results were observed by Soleimani and
Ahmadi (2015) who found that vertical direction can produce max-
imum vibration compared to longitudinal and lateral directions.
M. Al-Dairi, P.B. Pathare and R. Al-Yahyai
Fig. 2. Histogram of peaks generated in from (A) 100 km (B) 154 km and (C) 205 km
distances.
From histogram results (Fig. 2), all time-domain vibration data
greater than 0.0013 m/s2 were applied to determine the number of
acceleration peaks found on each transportation distance per
Fig. 3. The probability distribution of the acceleration for each distance in the vehicle.
4
Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx
second. A total of 4121, 2864, and 1607 peaks were found in the
acceleration interval of 0.0099-0.0116 m/s2 during travel for 205,
154, and 100 km, respectively. While a total of 2505, 1935, and
1365 peaks were recorded in the acceleration interval of 0.0116-
0.0133 m/s2 during travel for 205, 154, and 100 km, respectively.
Fig. 3 showed that over 38% of accelerations were recorded in
the range of 0.0099-0.0116 m/s2 of all transportation distances as
the sensor took the readings continuously during all road trans-
port. At this range, the percentage of acceleration occurrence was
higher in 205 km (41.29%) transportation distance followed by
154 km (40.44%) and 100 km (38.40%) transportation distances,
respectively. The maximum acceleration value (0.0271 m/s2)
obtained during transit showed 0.03% of acceleration occurrence
in all investigated distances. Generally, the acceleration occurrence
during transportation increased with the increase in on-road travel
distance. The result of acceleration values measured in the current
study is mostly within the range as reported by Shahbazi et al.
(2010) who recorded that the accelerations occurrence more than
97% of vibrations obtained below 2 g. Furthermore, they found that
the acceleration intervals of 0.25–0.50 and 0.50–0.75 g had the
maximum distribution percentages of vibration accelerations with
35.06% and 23.59%, respectively. During simulated in-transit vibra-
tion, increasing vibration duration to 60 min maximized the per-
centage of damage for watermelon at 0.7 g acceleration vibration
compared to less damage when exposed to 30 min vibration dura-
tion at 0.3 g acceleration vibration (Shahbazi et al., 2010).
3.2 Effect on chemical quality characteristics of tomato
3.2.1. Total soluble solids (TSS)
Total soluble solids (TSS) reflect on the tasting quality of pro-
duce and considers as an index of the ripening and an indicator
of the number of soluble minerals and sugar present in fresh pro-
duce (Abiso et al., 2015). The total soluble solids (TSS) of the
tomato were highly influenced by the storage temperature
(P = 0.00233) and storage duration (P  0.00001). Results also
showed no significant effect (P = 0.87571) observed between the
amount of TSS and transportation distance (Table 1). In this study,
the most significant changes in TSS were observed at ambient tem-
perature storage conditions, which increased significantly from 4.1
to 4.9 °Brix during 12 days of storage. On day 8 of storage at 22 °C,
TSS was 4.48, 4.5, and 4.46 °Brix and then become 4.8, 4.82, and
4.9°Brix on day 12 on tomato transported from short, medium,
M. Al-Dairi, P.B. Pathare and R. Al-Yahyai Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 1
TSS (°Brix), TSS/TA (%), and pH changes in tomatoes transported from three distances stored at ambient (22 ± 1 °C with 65 ± 5% RH) and optimum (10 ± 0.5 °C with 95 ± 1% RH) for
12 days storage period. The data were expressed in mean ± standard deviation. Mean values with different letters in a column (per parameter) differ significantly (P < 0.05)
performed by the Tukey HSD test. Numerical values of A, B, and C are p-values. All p-values in bold are statistically significant (Tukey HSD test., p < 0.05); ST = Storage temperature
(°C).

Chemical Distances ST (°C) Days of Storage

parameter
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
TSS (°Brix) 100 km 10 °C 4.16 ± 0.16a 4.16 ± 4.20 ± 4.22 ± 4.24 ± 4.38 ± 0.08a 4.62 ±
0.15a 0.20a 0.37a 0.16a 0.13a
22 °C 4.22 ± 4.34 ± 4.44 ± 4.48 ± 4.54 ± 0.41a 4.80 ±
0.19a 0.18a 0.23a 0.83a 0.29a
154 km 10 °C 4.10 ± 0.15a 4.06 ± 4.12 ± 4.20 ± 4.36 ± 4.48 ± 0.33a 4.74 ±
0.15a 0.19a 0.10a 0.20a 0.20a
22 °C 4.24 ± 4.28 ± 4.44 ± 4.50 ± 4.62 ± 0.19a 4.82 ±
0.23a 0.19a 0.08a 0.40a 0.23a
205 km 10 °C 4.10 ± 0.14a 4.10 ± 4.22 ± 4.32 ± 4.38 ± 4.44 ± 0.32a 4.64 ±
0.25a 0.44a 0.16a 0.32a 0.54a
22 °C 4.16 ± 4.26 ± 4.44 ± 4.46 ± 4.54 ± 0.27a 4.90 ±
0.40a 0.31a 0.11a 0.20a 0.29a
TSS:TA (%) 100 km 10 °C 10.41 ± 0.58a 10.57 ± 11.37 ± 11.60 ± 12.15 ± 13.88 ± 15.11 ±
0.36b 0.41b 0.86b 0.15b 2.35bc 0.67b
22 °C 11.25 ± 12.92 ± 13.73 ± 15.09 ± 16.53 ± 17.89 ±
1.34ab 0.89ab 0.19b 1.14ab 1.08abc 1.20ac
154 km 10 °C 10.67 ± 0.00a 10.48 ± 11.10 ± 11.82 ± 12.58 ± 13.36 ± 15.72 ±
0.12b 1.29b 0.15b 1.46b 0.89b 1.41b
22 °C 11.31 ± 12.05 ± 14.93 ± 16.40 ± 17.84 ± 18.17 ±
1.35ab 0.45ab 0.68a 6.05a 6.67 ac 0.92ac
205 km 10 °C 10.76 ± 0.12a 10.95 ± 11.58 ± 12.51 ± 13.18 ± 13.74 ± 15.72 ±
0.39ab 0.57b 1.78b 0.71ab 0.57b 1.45b
22 °C 11.82 ± 13.72 ± 15.11 ± 16.04 ± 17.90 ± 19.46 ±
0.30a 0.20a 0.92a 2.57a 6.02a 1.74a
pH 100 km 10 °C 4.15 ± 0.07a 4.25 ± 0.07 4.30 ± 4.30 ± 4.35 ± 4.40 ± 0.00b 4.45 ±
a
0.00a 0.00b 0.07a 0.07b
22 °C 4.35 ± 0.07 4.40 ± 4.45 ± 4.45 ± 4.50 ± 4.55 ±
a
0.00a 0.07a 0.07a 0.00ab 0.07b
154 km 10 °C 4.15 ± 0.07a 4.25 ± 0.07 4.30 ± 4.30 ± 4.35 ± 4.45 ± 4.50 ±
a
0.00a 0.00b 0.07a 0.07ab 0.00b
22 °C 4.35 ± 0.07 4.45 ± 4.50 ± 4.50 ± 4.55 ± 4.65 ±
a
0.07a 0.00a 0.00a 0.07ab 0.07b
205 km 10 °C 4.25 ± 0.07a 4.30 ± 0.00 4.30 ± 4.30 ± 4.35 ± 4.45 ± 4.55 ±
a
0.00a 0.00b 0.07a 0.07ab 0.07ab
22 °C 4.35 ± 0.07 4.45 ± 4.50 ± 4.55 ± 4.65 ± 0.07a 4.85 ±
a
0.07a 0.00a 0.07a 0.07a
Level of Storage Transport Storage AB AC BC
significance temperature (A) distance (B) duration (C)
TSS (°Brix) =0.00233 = 0.87571 0.00001 =0.33952 =0.03851 =0.22373
TSS:TA (%) 0.00001 =0.08366 0.00001 =0.05590 =0.00040 =0.43660
pH =0.00369 =0.29476 <0.00006 =0.00003 =0.00267 =0.00770

TSS is Total soluble solids; TSS:TA is total soluble solids: titratable acidity ratio.

and long-distance, respectively. Minimum changes were found in
tomato stored at 10 °C where TSS was ranging from 4.1 to 4.7
°Brix. TSS of tomato was 4.24, 4.36, and 4.38°Brix on day 8 and
reached 4.62, 4.74, and 4.64 °Brix, respectively, in the last day of
storage on tomato transported from short, medium, and long-
distance at 10 °C.
The phenomenon of the TSS increment during storage is mostly
attributed to ripening as well as carbohydrate conversion and
biosynthesis which was highly observed at ambient storage condi-
tions. Ripening during storage contributes to the degradation of
pectin substances into simple sugar (oligosaccharides) resulting
in increasing TSS over time (Munhuewyi, 2012). Žnidarčič et al.
(2010) stated that TSS increment can occur due to the process of
biosynthesis and polysaccharides degradation during maturity.
Similar results of non-significance between transport vibration
and TSS was observed in strawberry (Chaiwong and Bishop,
2015; Dhital et al., 2017), tomato (Al-Dairi et al., 2021b), and grape
(Jung et al., 2018). However, Lu et al. (2019) reported a high reduc-
tion in TSS of apple after vibration compared to the non-vibrated
group stored at 4 and 20 °C. The great effect of storage temperature
at ambient conditions (22 °C) in tomatoes was also observed by
5
Munhuewyi (2012). Islam et al. (2012) also confirmed that the
TSS of tomatoes increased from 4.1% to 4.9% after 17 days at a cold
temperature and increased from 4.2% to 5% at room temperature
after 7 days of storage. The result of the current study was in line
with the finding of Tigist et al. (2013) who reported significant
changes in TSS of tomato at ambient room conditions due to
hydrolysis of carbohydrates to soluble sugars and extreme water
loss during 32 days storage period.
3.2.2. Titratable acidity (%)
The titratable acidity value of tomato was significantly affected
by all studied factors like storage temperature (P = 0.00145), trans-
portation distance (P = 0.00098), and storage period (P = 0.00155)
(Fig. 4). TA ranged from 0.40 to 0.25% and was significantly higher
in tomato transported from the shortest distance followed by med-
ium and long-distance and stored at 10 °C compared to the trans-
ported tomato stored at 22 °C, where TA value was less. Tomato
samples stored at 22 °C after being transported from the longest
distance showed the lowest percentage of TA (0.25%) on the last
day of storage compared to medium and short distances where
both had a percentage of 0.26%. However, 0.31%, 0.30%, and
M. Al-Dairi, P.B. Pathare and R. Al-Yahyai Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

high TSS:TA ratio of 13.67 compared to 10.95 of the one stored

at 10–12 °C after 7 days of storage as tomato start to ripe.
Endalew (2020) also stated that the change in TSS:TA ratio was
correlated to the respiration activity of the fresh produce during
storage. High TSS level and low TA increases the TSS:TA ratio that
is associated with the good flavor of the produce.

3.2.4. pH
The tomato pH value significantly increased during storage
(P < 0.0001) at both temperature conditions (P = 0.00369). How-
ever, no pronounce (P = 0.29476) effect was shown in pH and
transportation distance (Table 1). The highest value of pH (4.65)
was recorded in tomato transported from 154 km stored at 22 °C
on day 12, where the lowest value was found on tomato trans-
ported from a short and medium distance on day 0. Tomato
showed a higher pH value at 22 °C storage compared to storage
Fig. 4. Titratable acidity % (TA) value of tomatoes transported from three distances at 10 °C. This was attributed to the continued reduction of titrat-
and stored at ambient (22 ± 1 °C with 65 ± 5% RH) and (10 ± 0.5 °C with 95 ± 1% RH)
for 12 days storage period. The bars represent mean values, and the vertical lines
able acidity (citric acid) (Teka, 2013) and the advancement in
are standard errors of the mean. Bars with different letters (per day) are tomato maturity stored at high temperatures. It was also reported
significantly different (P < 0.05) performed by the Tukey HSD test and numerical that the pH value of tomatoes increased with the increase of
values of A, B, and C are P-values. tomato storage time, ripening, and respiration (Abiso et al., 2015;
Endalew, 2020). A similar trend of non-significant effect was found
between transportation (simulated) and mushroom pH by
0.29% is the percentage of tomato TA value transported from short,
Walkowiak-Tomczak et al. (2020). Regarding storage duration,
medium, and long distances stored at 10 °C for 12 days storage.
the obtained results are in agreement with Dhital et al. (2017)
It was observed that TA decreased as transportation distance
who observed an increase in pH during storage that can be related
increased with high acceleration during the longest transportation
to the effect of O2 increment on the fruit respiration rate.
distance which is probably due to the repeated vibration, which
increased the rate of respiration of transported tomato leading to
3.3 Effect on nutritional characteristics of tomato
an increase in the consumption of organic acids by the active
enzymes. Dagdelen and Aday (2021) and La Scalia et al. (2015)
3.3.1. Total lycopene and carotenoids
reported a high reduction in TA on fruits exposed to higher vibra-
Total lycopene and carotenoids of tomato were gradually
tion during simulated transport. In terms of storage temperature,
increased during storage and it was significantly affected among
TA decreased as temperature increased due to the enhancement
the investigated factors like storage time (P = 0.04812), storage
of tomato ripening that can affect the acidity of fresh produce
temperature (P = 0.00381), and transportation distance
which is highly consumed by the enzyme reactions at high temper-
(P < 0.0001) (Fig. 5). The highest content of both pigments was
ature (Endalew, 2020). Also, Nirupama et al. (2010) stated that TA
observed on the last day of storage at both storage temperatures.
changes during storage are mainly attributed to the metabolic
Overall, the amount of lycopene at ambient temperature stored
activities of the living tissues of the tomato where organic acid
tomato was significantly higher than those stored at low storage
depletion takes place. Hatami et al. (2013) also emphasized that
temperature for 12 days. Lycopene content of tomato transported
the decline in TA can be related to higher ripening and respiration
from the longest distance and stored at room temperature was
rate where organic acids can be utilized as a substrate during the
respiration process or due to conversion to other sugars. They also
reported a high reduction in TA of tomato stored at 25 °C compared
to 13 and 5 °C. This was in agreement with Abiso et al. (2015) who
recorded a high reduction in TA as storage temperature and ripen-
ing increased. Similar results were indicated by Munhuewyi (2012)
on tomatoes stored at 22 °C for 7 days storage.

3.2.3. Sugar:acid ratio (TSS:TA)

The taste and flavor of any fresh produce is an interaction
between TSS and constitute acidity that is highly dependent on
the maturity stage of fresh produce. TSS:TA ratio was highly
affected by the storage temperature (P < 0.0001) and storage dura-
tion (P < 0.0001), but not by transportation distance (P = 0.08366)
(Table 1). The initial average of TSS:TA ratio was 10.41, 10.67, and
10.76 for short, medium, and long distances. The highest percent-
age of increase in TSS:TA ratio was observed in long-distance
(80.72%) transported tomatoes followed by short (71.81%), and
medium distance (70.19%) at 22 °C. The percentage of increase
on TSS: acid ratio of tomato stored at 10 °C was higher in tomato
transported form medium (47.27%) distance followed by long Fig. 5. Total lycopene value of tomatoes transported from three distances and
(46.08%) and short (45.13%) distance. Generally, this study showed stored at ambient (22 ± 1 °C with 65 ± 5% RH) and (10 ± 0.5 °C with 95 ± 1% RH) for
12 days storage period. The bars represent mean values, and the vertical lines are
a higher ratio of TSS:TA content in tomatoes stored at 22 °C rather standard errors of the mean. Bars with different letters (per day) are significantly
than storage at 10 °C. This in agreement with the findings of different (P < 0.05) performed by the Tukey HSD test and numerical values of A, B,
Munhuewyi (2012) where tomato stored at 22–25 °C showed a and C are P-values.

6
M. Al-Dairi, P.B. Pathare and R. Al-Yahyai
Fig. 6. Total carotenoids value of tomatoes transported from three distances and
stored at ambient (22 ± 1 °C with 65 ± 5% RH) and (10 ± 0.5 °C with 95 ± 1% RH) for
12 days storage period. The bars represent mean values, and the vertical lines are
standard errors of the mean. Bars with different letters (per day) are significantly
different (P < 0.05) performed by the Tukey HSD test and numerical values of A, B,
and C are P-values.

1
0.24 mg.100 g FW on day 0 which increase more than double on
day 8 with 0.58 mg.100 g
1 FW and 1.21 mg.100 g
1 FW on day 12,
respectively. Similarly, it increased from 0.13 to 1.11 mg.100 g
1
FW in tomato transported from the medium distance on days 0
and 12, respectively. However, the increase in lycopene content
was on its low level on tomato transported from the shortest dis-
tance and stored at 10 °C. Lycopene increased from 0.12 mg.100 g
1
FW to reach 0.42 mg.100 g
1 FW compared to medium and long
distances on the same storage condition.
Similar trends were found in tomato carotenoids contents at
both storage conditions and all transportation distances (Fig. 6).
The amount of carotenoids contents in 205 km transported tomato
stored at room temperature increased five times from 0.31 to
1.55 mg.100 g
1 FW on day 0 and 12, respectively compared to a
double increase with 0.63 mg.100 g
1 FW on tomato stored at
10 °C transported from the same distance. Besides, the lowest car-
otenoid contents recorded for 12 days were found in tomato trans-
ported from the shortest distance and kept at 10 °C with
0.53 mg.100 g
1 FW compared to 1.38 mg. 100g1 FW on tomato
stored at room temperature and transported from the same dis-
tance. Overall, tomatoes transported from a short distance and
stored at 10 °C had the lowest lycopene and carotenoids pigments.
Studies in carotenoids and lycopene contents changes due to
transportation are not available yet. However, this study could
emphasize that long transport distance can enhance the process
of ripening which is responsible for increasing red color develop-
ment as well as the contents of lycopene and carotenoids. Regard-
ing storage condition, lycopene and carotenoids pigments greatly
increased during storage, particularly, at ambient temperature
due to the development of ripening and maturity processes
resulted in the rapid accumulation of carotenoids as chloroplasts
are converted to chromoplasts (Abiso et al., 2015). Javanmardi
and Kubota (2006) also revealed high lycopene content in toma-
toes stored for 7 days at room temperature compared to those
stored at a cold temperature for 14 days. However, Park et al.
(2018) found the highest accumulation of lycopene in tomatoes
stored at 20 °C for 13 days storage. Munhuewyi (2012) reported
that ambient storage temperature condition (22–25 °C) has a great
effect on tomato lycopene and carotenoids developments.
Fagundes et al. (2015) also recorded that storage conditions can
change the biosynthesis of lycopene. The ideal range of tempera-
7
Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx
ture for lycopene synthesis is between 12 °C and 32 °C. Tempera-
tures above 32 °C stop the biosynthesis activity and below 12 °C
inhibit the process.
4. Conclusions
The main objective of this study was to explore the influence of
different transportation distances as well as storage temperature
for 12 days in the chemical and nutritional quality parameters of
tomatoes. The results of the study indicated the long-distance
transportation produced the highest percentage (41%) in the accel-
eration range of 0.0099-0.0116 m/s2. Among chemical analysis, TA
was the only characteristic affected by all studied factors like
transportation distance, storage temperature, and storage dura-
tion. The TA was reduced by 33.61% on tomato transported from
the longest distance and stored at 22 °C after 12 days of storage.
However, TSS, TSS:TA ratio, and pH were only affected by storage
temperature and storage duration. Storage at room temperature
showed a high increase in pH, TSS, and TSS/TA ratio on the last
day of storage. The nutritional quality attributes (lycopene and car-
otenoids) of tomato increased as transport distance, storage tem-
perature, and storage duration increased.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Mai Al-Dairi: Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing - original
draft. Pankaj B. Pathare: Conceptualization, Supervision, Formal
analysis, Funding acquisition, Writing - review & editing. Rashid
Al-Yahyai: Supervision, Writing - review & editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
The research leading to these results received funding from the
Research Council (TRC) of the Sultanate of Oman under Block Fund-
ing Program (TRC Block Funding Agreement No. RC/GRG-AGR/
SWAE/19/01). We would like to thank Sultan Qaboos University
for their financial support under the project code: IG/AGR/
SWAE/19/03.
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