Preserving the Postharvest Quality of Strawberry cv. ‘Sabrina’ by Carboxymethyl Cellulose and Putrescine

Fresh strawberries are highly perishable, have a limited shelf life, and are susceptible to postharvest losses. This study evaluated the effectiveness of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC, 1% w/v) and putrescine (PUT, 1 mM) individually or combined in preserving the quality and shelf life of strawberry fruits cv. ‘Sabrina’ during 15 days of storage at 4 ± 0.5 °C with 90–95% relative humidity. Physico-chemical characteristics and activity of antioxidant enzymes were monitored during storage at 5‑day intervals. The results revealed that CMC and PUT treatments had no significant effect on the soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), and SSC/TA ratio. CMC+PUT treatment substantially decreased the physiological loss in weight and decay incidence of strawberry fruits as compared to the control samples. In addition, the highest firmness, antioxidant compounds (ascorbic acid, total anthocyanin, and phenolic content), the activity of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, guaiacol peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase), total antioxidant activity, and sensory properties were observed in CMC+PUT treated strawberry fruits. Overall, these results indicated that combining CMC and PUT could effectively preserve the integrity of strawberries during cold storage.