Effects of Postharvest Gibberellic Acid Treatments on Quality Attributes and Lipid Peroxidation in Cherry Tomato Fruits

In this study, the effects of postharvest applications of different doses of gibberellic acid (GA₃) on quality attributes, bioactive compounds, and lipid peroxidation in 'Çakıl' cherry tomato fruits were investigated. The fruits were immersed in 0.1 and 0.3 mM GA3 solutions for 10 min, while the control group was immersed in a solvent-matched solution containing 0.1% (v/v) ethanol without GA3. After treatment, the samples were stored at 10 °C and 80±5% relative humidity for 35 days. During storage, weight loss, pH, titratable acidity (TA), soluble solids content (SSC), color, fruit flesh firmness, total phenolic content, total antioxidant capacity, total flavonoid content, and MDA content were determined. The responses to GA₃ treatments varied depending on the applied dose, measured attribute, and storage period. At the end of storage, the 0.3 mM GA₃ treatment resulted in the lowest weight loss and, compared with the control, lower pH and higher SSC and fruit flesh firmness. Both GA₃ treatments showed higher total antioxidant capacity than the control, with no statistically significant difference between the two doses. The 0.1 mM GA₃ treatment resulted in the lowest MDA content at the end of storage and the highest mean total flavonoid content across the storage period. Overall, postharvest GA₃ may be regarded as a promising preliminary treatment under the tested conditions, with its effects depending on the dose and target quality attribute.