Effects of Vacuum Impregnation with Sucrose Solution on Mango Tissue.

The influences of vacuum impregnation (VI) on the tissue of mango cubes during atmospheric immersion in sucrose solution were investigated. Results showed that VI effectively facilitated water loss (WL) and sugar gain (SG) during the 300min immersion process, with increases of 20.59% and 31.26%, respectively. A pectin solubilization/degradation phenomenon was observed in the immersion process. The intercellular space and cross section area in the VI-treated mango tissue increased immediately after being released to atmospheric pressure. And it was noted that after experiencing shrinkage-relaxation period twice in the 300 min immersion process, the size of VI-treated mango cells recovered to the original level of fresh ones. Major variations in WL, protopectin content, water soluble pectin content, firmness and microstructure of mango cubes appeared within the first 60 min. In addition, the firmness of mango cubes was positively correlated with the protopectin content (P < 0.01), but negatively correlated with WL and the water soluble pectin content (P < 0.01), indicating that WL and degradation of protopectin contributed greatly to the loss of firmness.