Short-term anoxia improves postharvest quality and reduces browning-related enzyme activity in edible Astraeus odoratus mushroom.

Astraeus odoratus, a nutritionally and economically valuable wild edible mushroom, is highly perishable because of its high respiration rate and fragile tissue structure. This study evaluated the effects of short-term anoxic treatment prior to low-temperature storage on the postharvest quality of A. odoratus. Fresh mushrooms were exposed to anoxic conditions for 9 h and stored at 10 ± 2 °C. Anoxia significantly reduced weight loss, electrical conductivity, and hydrogen peroxide accumulation compared with the control. Anoxia-treated samples exhibited higher antioxidant capacity as determined by DPPH and FRAP assays. Furthermore, short-term anoxia suppressed the activities of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase, the major enzymes associated with enzymatic browning. These results demonstrate that short-term anoxic treatment can enhance antioxidant defense, delay browning, and preserve the quality of A. odoratus mushrooms, highlighting the novelty of this approach for extending shelf life and promoting their commercial utilization.