Relationships between respiration, ethylene, and aroma production in ripening banana.

Mature green bananas were treated with the ethylene antagonist 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) at intervals during the 24 h period after initiation of ripening with propylene. Following 1-MCP treatment, the fruits were ripened in either air or propylene while ethylene, carbon dioxide, and volatile production and composition were monitored at regular intervals. The application of 1-MCP significantly delayed and suppressed the onset and magnitude of fruit respiration and volatile production. The 1-MCP treatments also caused a quantitative change in the composition of the aroma volatiles, resulting in a substantial increase in the concentration of alcohols and a decrease in their related esters. The results showed that ethylene has a continuing role in integrating many of the biochemical processes that take place during the ripening of bananas.