Post-harvest toughening of asparagus spears is associated with a large increase in monomeric and diferulic acids in the cell walls of stem tissues. The purpose of this study has been to investigate the distribution of these phenolic components among cell wall polymers and the role they play in the formation of associated pectic-xylan-phenolic complexes in relation to post-harvest toughening. The phenolic esters are found in all the extractable polysaccharide fractions, particularly the 0.5 M KOH fraction, as well as the insoluble cellulose-rich residue. The storage-related increase occurs in all fractions but is most prominent in the 0.5 M KOH-soluble components. Degradation of 0.5 M KOH subfractions with pure polysaccharide degrading enzymes has confirmed the occurrence of pectic-xylan-phenolic complexes in which ferulic acid and its dehydrodimers are attached to the xylan component but not to the pectic component. Studies on cell separation show that the maturation- and storage-related increase in thermal stability of cell adhesion (and therefore texture) is probably due to an increase in phenolic cross linking of xylans mainly in the parenchyma tissues. This overcomes the thermal lability of the pectic polysaccharides that are responsible for cell adhesion in immature tissues. The storage-induced appearance of some of the diferulic acid moieties in a number of wall polymer fractions supports the hypothesis that the storage affect is a wound-induced response rather than a continuation of maturation-related activity.
Copyright 2004 American Chemical Society