Freshly harvested bamboo (Phyllostachys violascens) shoots were stored for 35 days under various hypobaric conditions (101, 75, 50 and 25 kPa) at 2 ± 1 °C to investigate the effects of hypobaric storage on flesh lignifications. It was found that hypobaric storage at 50 kPa was most effective in preventing the increase in shoots firmness and allied accumulations of lignin and cellulose. Furthermore, the hypobaric storage at 50 kPa inhibited the ethylene production, reduced the rate of O 2 · − production and the accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and H 2 O 2 , and maintained significantly higher activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), but restrained the activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and peroxidase (POD). These data indicate that the delay in flesh lignification of bamboo shoots by hypobaric storage was due to maintenance of higher antioxidant enzymes activities and reduced ethylene production, leading to less ROS accumulation and better cell-membrane integrity.
