Effect of storage temperatures on physicochemical, textural, bioactive, and microstructure changes in amla fruit

The quality of amla fruits is greatly affected by post-harvest factors, especially storage temperature and time, which undergo rapid quality changes after harvest. Therefore, a detailed storage study was necessary for amla fruit. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the impact of different storage temperatures and durations on physicochemical, textural, bioactive, and microstructure properties of amla fruit. Storage analysis was performed at low (6 °C) and room temperature (25 °C) conditions. The results showed that fructose sugar significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by 15.79% during room temperature (RT) storage due to a higher respiration rate (14.32–45.98 mL kg^− 1h^− 1) in the RT environment, while it was non-significantly affected during low-temperature (LT) storage. Although, total soluble solid (TSS) of RT-stored amla increased by 76.67% due to moisture loss (7.82%). These results correlated that increased TSS is due to moisture loss, unrelated to ripening or starch degradation. In addition, total phenol content (TPC) of RT-amla was increased by 28.23%, while it slightly decreased by 6.58% for LT-amla. At the same time, variations in TSS, weight, and moisture were insignificant during LT storage, resulting in no significant changes in textural properties and SEM microstructures. Textural properties of RT and LT-stored amla exhibited opposite trends during storage, which can be correlated with reduced intercellular space and increased gumminess in SEM microstructure analysis. These findings provide new insights into governing amla fruit’s characteristics during storage, which will be beneficial in enhancing shelf-life.