Abstract: A famous litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn. ) cultivar‘Nuomici’was used to investigate the changes of color and the contents of anthocyanins and flavonoids in pericarp during chilling2injuried temperature storage. The
browning index increased greatly after storing for 14 d at 0 ℃and developed irreversible chilling damage on the 21th day. The apparent color parameters a , L and C values decreased continuously with storage time , indicating that the peel had less red feature and became darker. Within 7 days (from 14 d to 21 d) stored at 0 ℃, the values of a , L and Cwent down by 27195 %, 33158 %and 58147 %, respectively. The contents of anthocyanin , flavonoids and total phenolic in pericarp at 0 ℃decreased , and on the 21th day they were 18.08 %, 35.99 % and 41.64 %, respectively , as those at harvest day. Cold storage at 3 ℃partially inhibited the changes of all these parameters , thereby delaying the browning progress. The color parameters of a , L and C value were significantly correlated with browning index and anthocyanins contents , respectively ( P < 0.05) . Colorimeter can be used as objective parameter to designate the browning degree of chilling injury.

Key words: Litchi, Chilling-injuried, Pericarp, Color, Anthocyanin, Flavonoids, Storage