Controlled atmosphere treatment reduces fruit surface pitting by improving antioxidant capacity and modulating membrane lipid metabolism of refrigerated sweet cherries

Sweet cherries are susceptible to surface pitting during low-temperature storage. This study examined the effects of a controlled-atmosphere treatment (3 % O 2 + 10 % CO 2 + 87 % N 2 ) on pitting, antioxidant capacity, and membrane lipid metabolism in sweet cherry stored at 0 ± 0.5 °C. The controlled-atmosphere treatment. effectively suppressed pitting and decay while preserving fruit quality. It enhanced the activities and gene expression levels of catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, and ascorbate peroxidase, while also increased ascorbic acid and glutathione contents, thereby promoting the removal of reactive oxygen species. Simultaneously, the treatment downregulated the expression and activity of lipoxygenase and phospholipase D, resulting in increased fatty acid unsaturation and improved preservation of cell membrane integrity and function. These findings indicate that a controlled-atmosphere treatment can improve the antioxidant capacity, mitigate membrane lipid peroxidation, and thereby effectively reduce surface pitting in refrigerated sweet cherries. • Controlled-atmosphere treatment inhibited pitting and maintained quality of sweet cherry. • Controlled-atmosphere treatment increased the antioxidant enzyme activities and relative expression levels. • Controlled-atmosphere treatment enhanced antioxidant substance content. • Controlled-atmosphere treatment slowed membrane lipid peroxidation and maintained high fatty acid unsaturation.