Para-coumaric acid and cinnamic acid enhance resistance of Agaricus bisporus mushrooms to Brown blotch disease caused by Pseudomonas tolaasii

• Published in: Food control 2025-02, Vol.168, p.110859, Article 110859
• Main Authors: Shi, Zixuan, Song, Rui, Zhang, Lei, Jiang, Hanyue, Jiao, Lu, Yuan, Shuai, Zheng, Yanyan, Chen, Lin, Meng, Demei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacterial disease; Edible mushroom; Induced resistance; Phenolic acid; Storage
• ISSN: 0956-7135
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2024.110859

The effects of postharvest pre-treatments with para-coumaric acid (PCA) and cinnamic acid (CA) against brown blotch disease in Agaricus bisporus mushrooms caused by Pseudomonas tolaasii were investigated. PCA and CA at the concentration of 300 mg L−1 provided the highest inhibition ratio of 28.9% and 20.9%, respectively, on the in vitro growth of P. tolaasii. In addition, PCA and CA pre-treatments dramatically reduced the P. tolaasii-caused brown blotch disease in postharvest A. bisporus. Biochemical analysis revealed that PCA and CA inhibited P. tolaasii-induced activation of polyphenol oxidase and melanin production, increased activities of β-N-acetylglucosaminidase, β-1,3-glucanase and chitinase, promoted phenylpropanoid biosynthetic enzyme activities and metabolite production, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities, and decreased malondialdehyde content in A. bisporus mushrooms. Collectively, these results demonstrated that PCA and CA can induce resistance to postharvest brown blotch disease in A. bisporus mushrooms, and have good prospects for disease control in edible mushrooms. •Para-Coumaric acid (PCA) and cinnamic acid (CA) alleviated brown blotch disease.•In vitro inhibitory effect of PCA and CA on Pseudomonas tolaasii was studied.•PCA and CA improved resistance to P. tolaasii in postharvest Agaricus bisporus.•PCA and CA activated phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway.•PCA and CA enhanced the activities of defense- and antioxidant-related enzymes.