One of the biggest problems in postharvest litchi pericarp browning is, the color red becomes totally dark in 48 hours at 25 º C. Technologies that can control the browning of the pericarp are valuable, and is the main focus of research in post-harvest. The aim of this study was to evaluate the shelf life of lychee 'Bengal', stored at 20 ° C and 82% RH after the hydrothermal treatment and/or immersion in HCl solution. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 4 x 7, with three replications, where the first factor was the treatment: control, immersion in HCl 1%, for 6 minutes; hydrothermal treatment, soaking in water at 52 ° C for 1 minutes, followed by immersion in water at 10 º C for 6 minutes, and hydrothermal treatment and subsequent cooling in 1% HCl, 10 ° C for 6 minutes. The second factor was the storage periods: 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and 12 days. The combination of hydrothermal treatment (52 ° C for 1 min) and cooling in HCl 1% allowed to retain the color of lychee 'Bengal' for up to two days. Yet there are browning in 25% of the surface.
Litchi chinensis; pericarp browning; anthocyanins; peroxidase; polyphenol oxidase
