Kiwifruit is an extremely perishable fruit; postharvest disease and senescence during storage can reduce the fruit quality, resulting in economic loss. Considerable research effort has focused on identifying safe and cost-effective ways to preserve fresh kiwifruit. To this end, the present study investigated the effects of alginate oligosaccharide (AOS) soaking treatment on postharvest quality and disease in the ‘Bruno’ variety of kiwifruit. The involved physiological mechanisms were further explored. The results showed that AOS did not inhibit the growth of Botrytis cinerea in vitro, the causal agent of gray mold in kiwifruit, but reduced the incidence of gray mold and diameter of lesions of kiwifruit during storage. Kiwifruit treated with 50 mg · L⁻¹ AOS showed a higher degree of firmness and lower soluble solid content than control fruit treated with distilled water. Moreover, AOS treatment inhibited the activity of polygalacturonase and pectinesterase, while enhancing the activity of polyphenoloxidase, l-phenylalanine ammonia lyase and β-1,3-glucanase related to pathogen defense, and also improved total antioxidant capacity determined by the DPPH, FRAP, and ABTS methods in kiwifruit. These results indicate that 50 mg · L⁻¹ AOS can confer disease resistance in kiwifruit during storage.

猕猴桃是一种极易腐烂的水果；贮藏期间的采后病害和衰老会降低果实品质，造成经济损失。大量的研究工作集中在确定安全且具有成本效益的保存新鲜猕猴桃的方法上。为此，本研究调查了藻酸盐低聚糖 (AOS) 浸泡处理对“布鲁诺”品种猕猴桃采后质量和病害的影响。进一步探讨了所涉及的生理机制。结果表明，AOS对猕猴桃灰霉病病原灰霉病菌的体外生长没有抑制作用，但能降低猕猴桃贮藏过程中灰霉病的发生率和病斑直径。用 50 mg·L ^-1处理的猕猴桃与用蒸馏水处理的对照水果相比，AOS 显示出更高的硬度和更低的可溶性固形物含量。此外，AOS处理抑制了多聚半乳糖醛酸酶和果胶酯酶的活性，同时增强了与病原体防御相关的多酚氧化酶、l-苯丙氨酸解氨酶和β -1,3-葡聚糖酶的活性，还提高了DPPH、FRAP、和猕猴桃中的 ABTS 方法。这些结果表明，50 mg·L ^-1 AOS 可以赋予猕猴桃在贮藏期间的抗病性。