Effects of cold plasma treatment on maintaining the quality of fresh-cut bamboo shoots during shelf-life storage

Cold plasma (CP) is an emerging preservation technology that involves minimal processing and retains the freshness of fresh-cut products. In this study, we applied CP (50 kV, 30 s) to evaluate the potential use on the freshly cut Ma bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro) shoots using physicochemical, headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS), 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and metabolomic analyses. The results showed that the firmness of CP treated bamboo was 57% higher than control groups, and CP treatment could effectively inhibit yellowing for up to five days at 25 °C. Six key flavor compounds (odor activity value (OAV) > 1) were detected. 4-Hydroxy-benzaldehyde was the most abundant compound, accounting for 45.53%–78.46% in bamboo shoots. Aldehyde, ketone, and ester contents increased significantly, whereas alcohols and alkenes were reduced by CP treatment. CP induced higher microorganism community diversity within four days. Freshly cut bamboo shoots had a high concentration of metabolites that were closely related to the lignin biosynthesis. Through the accumulating of stress-related hormones, fatty acids, and flavonoids, CP boosted the response to external stress. This method offers a new approach to preserve the quality of freshly cut bamboo shoots.