Introduction:

Fruits are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals which are essential to our body and
daily intake (Sissons, 2019). According to MyPlate, it provides various nutrients such as
potassium, fiber, vitamin C and folate which may reduce the risks of getting certain diseases.
However, different fruits have their optimum condition where they have the highest amount
of nutrients. During ripening, some fruits may have a degradation of chlorophyll, followed by
increase of other pigments and some breakdown of complex sugars (Olufunke 2020). Some
may also have a decrease in water amount. After harvested, some fruits continue to ripe but
some do not. Fruits which continue to ripe after detached from the parent plant is climacteric
fruit while in contrast, fruits which can only ripen when remain attached to the parent plant is
non-climacteric plant (Paul, Pandey and Srivastava, 2011). Climacteric fruit exhibits a peak
in respiration and a corresponding rupture of ethylene production at the beginning of
ripening. The relationship between climacteric respiration and fruit ripening has been studied
in response that some fruits can mature on their vines even in the absence of respiration
growth. This shows that the respiratory climacteric is most likely a secondary and effect of
the ripening process rather than an absolute activation of it. When bananas ripen, there is an
ethylene release that occurs earlier to the respiratory climacteric phase (Tripathi, 2016).

In this experiment, harvested tomatoes, papayas and mangoes are used to study their
biochemical composition. The pH and soluble solid concentration, SSC (ºBrix) value of fruits
in different ripening and storing condition are determined. The pH value of fruits determines
the acidity of the fruits and it is affected by the amount or concentration of organic acids that
vary within different types of fruits (Mettler Toledo, n.d.). Ripening process will either
increase or decrease the pH value of the fruits based on the type of the fruit. pH value of a
fruits can be measured using pH meter. Whereas SSC (ºBrix) value indicates the amount or
quantity of soluble sugars in a fruit and can be measured using Palette Digital Refractometer.
It is expected that the pH value of sample fruits in the experiment will increase when ripened
as the organic acids starts to degrade while the SSC value of the fruits will increase as starch
may be break down into glucose. Nonetheless, Brix is the unit that are the most commonly
used in the food and beverage industrial sector. The sucrose and fructose that are found in
fruit juice are measured in Brix. Brix may be measured at a store, on a plant, or in the field. It
uses the specific gravity of a liquid to determine how many dissolved particles are present in
the liquid (Jaywant, Singh and Arif, 2022).

Reference:

Sissons, B., 2019. Top 12 healthful fruits. MedicalNewsToday. [online] 13 February.

Available at: <https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324431> [Accessed 6 November
2023].

Olufunke, 2020. Ripening as a major process in health benefits of fruits. [online] Available
at: <https://punchng.com/ripening-as-a-major-process-in-health-benefits-of-fruits/
#:~:text=Glucose%20and%20fructose%20increase%20during,general%20loss%20of
%20sensory%20acceptability.> [Accessed 6 November 2023].

Paul, V., Pandey, R. and Srivastava, G.C., 2012. The fading distinctions between classical
patterns of ripening in climacteric and non-climacteric fruit and the ubiquity of ethylene—An
overview. Journal of Food Science and Technology. [e-journal] 49(1), pp.1−21. doi:
10.1007/s13197-011-0293-4

Mettler Toledo, n.d. pH measurement of fruit juice. [online] Available at:

<https://www.mt.com/my/en/home/library/applications/lab-analytical-instruments/
measurement-pH-of-fruit-juice.html> [Accessed 6 November 2023].

Tripathi, K., 2016. Fruit ripening of climacteric and non climacteric fruit. [online] Journal of
Environmental and Applied Bioresearch, Science Research Library, p.p 27-34. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301325092_FRUIT_RIPENING_OF_CLIMACTE
RIC_AND_NON_CLIMACTERIC_FRUIT [Accessed 6 November 2023].

Jaywant, S.A., Singh, H. and Arif, K.M. (2022). Sensors and instruments for brix
measurement: A review. Sensors, 22(6), p.2290. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/s22062290.