Effects of Wounding Stress and Storage Temperature on the Accumulation of Chlorogenic Acid Isomers in Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

Wounding stress is an effective strategy to increase the content of bioactive compounds in horticultural crops. Potato tubers subjected to wounding stress accumulate chlorogenic acid (CGA) and CGA isomers (neo-CGA and crypto-CGA), which are phenolics that prevent and treat different chronic and degenerative diseases. In this study, the effects of wounding stress and storage temperature (10 °C and 20 °C for 168 h) on the accumulation of CGA isomers in potatoes were evaluated. Results indicated that CGA accumulation was favored when wounded potatoes were stored at 20 °C for 120 h, obtaining a 1923.1% higher concentration when compared with samples before storage. Furthermore, wounded potatoes stored at 10 °C for 120 h showed the highest neo-CGA increase in concentration (712.2%). Likewise, the highest crypto-CGA concentration (84.9% higher than control samples) was quantified in wounded potatoes stored at 20 °C for 144 h. Based on the results from both the present study and previous reports, a strategy that summarizes effective postharvest stress conditions that induce the accumulation of specific CGA isomers in potatoes is presented. The tissue with an increased content of bioactive compounds could be used as raw material to produce functional foods or could be subjected to downstream processing to produce dietary supplements.