Precise Delivery of Physiological Doses of Melatonin in Planta to Control Postharvest Physiology and Extend Shelf Life Outside the Cold Chain
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Han_Jangir_et_al_Manuscript.pdf
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Author(s)
Han, Yangyang
Jangir, Monika
Ngoh, Amanda Si Yi
Li, Chunhong
Sarangapani, Sreelatha
Cao, Yunteng
Zhang, Yilin
Cheerlavancha, Raju
Sarojam, Rajani
Marelli, Benedetto
Date Issued
May 21, 2025
Journal
Nano Letters
Citation
Han, Yangyang, Jangir, Monika, Ngoh, Amanda Si Yi, Li, Chunhong, Sarangapani, Sreelatha et al. 2025. "Precise Delivery of Physiological Doses of Melatonin in Planta to Control Postharvest Physiology and Extend Shelf Life Outside the Cold Chain." Nano Letters.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Postharvest management of leafy vegetables requires refrigeration to control their rapid deterioration and loss, which accounts for ∼30% of total food waste. Here, silk microneedles with a length of 700 μm were used to deliver physiological doses of melatonin (approximately 22 μg) in the leafy vegetable Pak choy (Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis) and successfully extended the shelf life of the harvested crop by 4 and 10 days at room temperature (25 °C) and under refrigeration (4 °C), respectively, compared to nontreated control plants. The exogenous dose of melatonin did not alter the natural concentration of the hormone in the harvested plants. Transcriptome analysis showed that melatonin regulates senescence by modulating auxin synthesis, the antioxidant system, and chlorophyll degradation. Overall, silk microneedles can be used to precisely deliver in harvested products compounds that extend their shelf life outside the cold chain.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00487
