# Effect of Postharvest UVB Irradiation on the Fruit of cv. Dottato (_Ficus carica_ L.)
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Chemical Analysis
#### 3.2.2 Total Caroenoids and Polyphenolic Content  
Polyphenols and carotenoids are \"bioctive non-nutrient \"compounds produced in plants and are responsible for several physiological functions such as the color of fruit and/or the plant defense system [65; 66]. Furthermore, they contribute to fruit quality and are used to assess shelf life. But the importance of secondary metabolites is linked to their potential beneficial effects for the consumer; in fact, an abundance of literature confirms that they are the most promising source of beneficial health substances, well known for their antioxidant potential [67; 68]. _F. carica_ fruits contain beneficial natural antioxidant substances [69; 70] that promote beneficial health activities (antifungal, antibacterial, anticarcinogenic) [71]. The concentration of total carotenoids and polyphenols in fig fruits (skin and flesh) in UVB and \(-\)UVB treatments is shown in Figure 6. Our results showed that the accumulation of carotenoids and polyphenols is greater in the skin than in the flesh of the fruit. Regarding the content of total carotenoids, our results showed  
Figure 5: Change in glucose, fructose, and total sugar content in the skin (**A**) and the flesh (**B**) of cv. [PERSON], 10\({}^{\prime}\) (+UVB10) and 60\({}^{\prime}\) (+UVB60) UVB treatments and relative controls (\(-\)UVB10 and \(-\)UVB60) at T0 (immediately after the treatment), T1 (after 7 days), and T2 (after 10 days) of storage. Data are means (n = 3) \(\pm\) SD. The different letters above each column indicate significant differences among the treatments (Tukey’s test \(p\) < 0.05), ns = not significant. a gradual increase during the storage period in all samples. In the skin, the content of total carotenoids increased at T1 by 35.4% for +UVB10 and 20.4% for +UVB60 compared to the control (Figure 6A). At the end of the storage period (T2), total carotenoids showed a marked increase in all UVB treated samples, with values ranging from 7.74 mg/g in +UVB10 to 5.52 mg/g in \(-\)UVB10. Comparing exposure times, our results showed that fruits irradiated for 10 min showed no statistically significant difference (\(p<0.05\)) with those irradiated with UVB for 60 min (Figure 6A). The same trend was observed in the flesh, with a gradual increase during the storage period. The highest values were observed at T2, where the UVB treated fruit had an average of 2.89 mg/g, while in the control fruit, the carotenoid content was 1.48 mg/g. No statistically significant difference was observed between the two UVB irradiation times (Figure 6A). Regarding polyphenols, analyses were conducted of the skin and flesh and are shown in Figure 6B. At T1, an increase in polyphenols was observed in the skin of the UVB treated fruit, i.e., +UVB10 recorded a value of 15.89 mg/g and +UVB60 of 25.91 mg/g, compared to T0 where they measured 12.87 and 12.71 mg/g, respectively. At the end of the storage period (T2), total polyphenols showed a slight decrease in all samples. However, their decrease was slower in the UVB treated fruit. +UVB10 showed a difference of 5.82 mg/g compared to \(-\)UVB10, while +UVB60 showed a difference of 14.84 mg/g compared to \(-\)UVB60 (at T2). Furthermore, our results showed statistically significant differences at both T1 and T2 comparing the irradiation times (+UVB10 and +UVB60); the highest results were observed in +UVB60 with values of 25.91 at T1 and 21.26 at T2 (Figure 6B). The flesh presented similar results to the skin, with an increase in total polyphenols in the UVB  
Figure 6: Total carotenoids (**A**) and polyphenols (**B**) in cv. Dottaro, skin (full-color columns) and flesh (color columns with pattern) for UVB treatments (+UVB10; +UVB60) and relative controls (\(-\)UVB10 and \(-\)UVB60) at T0 (immediately after the treatment), T1 (after 7 days), and T2 (after 10 days) of storage. Data are means (n = 3) \(\pm\) SD. The different letters above each column indicate significant differences among the treatments (Tukey’s test \(p<0.05\)), ns = not significant.