Novel diethylthiosulfinate orchestrates enhancement of antioxidant defense and ester-linked aroma quality in postharvest strawberries under cold storage

Postharvest strawberries are highly susceptible to rapid mass loss and decay during cold storage, yet effective preservatives that prolong shelf life while maintaining aroma quality remain poorly reported. This study evaluated the effects of diethylthiosulfinate (DETS) at an optimized concentration (0.1 g·L -1 ) on extending storage duration and preserving aroma quality in cold-stored strawberries 4±1 °C. By day 20, DETS treatment significantly reduced the decay rate to below 5%, compared to over 60% in the control group. Mechanistically, versus the control, DETS mitigated oxidative stress by decreasing levels of reactive oxygen species (O 2 ·- , H 2 O 2 ) and malondialdehyde (MDA) by 17.65%, 14.8% and 8.33%, respectively. Concurrently, activities of key antioxidant enzymes—superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR) — were upregulated, with APX activity reaching 2.19-fold higher than the control at day 20 and GR activity maintaining a 34.75%–89.42% increase throughout storage. Antioxidant substrates such as glutathione (GSH, +27.2%), total phenolics (TP, +4.78%), and flavonoids (TF, +3.02%) were also significantly elevated by day 20. Regarding aroma quality, DETS treatment promoted accumulation of key volatile compounds (esters, terpenoids, furans), with 12 volatiles identified as discriminant markers via Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) analysis. Pearson correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed strong links between strawberry quality parameters and antioxidant capacity. Notably, the DETS group exhibited superior retention of esters, terpineols, and furans compared to the control. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that DETS effectively maintains the postharvest quality of strawberries during cold storage, presenting it as a promising candidate preservative for industrial application. • DETS enhance the antioxidant capacity of postharvest strawberries. • DETS attenuates cold storage-induced oxidative stress through ROS scavenging. • DETS modulates ester/terpenoid volatile profiles to preserve flavor quality. • DETS extends shelf life and improves quality attributes as a fungicide alternative.