Application of Exogenous Phenolic Compounds in Improving Postharvest Fruits Quality: Classification, Potential Biochemical Mechanisms and Synergistic Treatment

Phenolic compounds (PCs), flavonoids, non-flavonoids and hybrid phenolics, with antibacterial and antioxidant properties, which can be applied to improve the fruit quality at the postharvest phase. Exogenous PCs improve postharvest fruits quality by inhibiting disease, maintaining nutraceutical compounds, delaying senescence, and improving respiratory metabolism and energy status. They attach to targets in cell walls and membranes of fungal, can inhibit the defensive enzyme activity and disturb the synthesis of ergosterol that is the main component of fungal cell membrane. Moreover, they can significantly decrease the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content in fruits as effective ROS scavengers. Therefore, this paper reviewed the classification and the potential mechanism and application of exogenous PCs treatment in controlling diseases, improving fruits quality and regulating metabolism in fruits during storage, and encourages research on more precise physical simulation methods to determine the specific action sites in PCs-fungal-fruits.