Inhibition of hardy kiwifruit (Actinidia aruguta) ripening by 1-methylcyclopropene during cold storage and anticancer properties of the fruit extract

•Hardy kiwifruit (Actinidia aruguta cv ‘Cheongsan’) shows a climacteric-like characteristic.•1-MCP delays fruit softening by reducing respiration and ethylene production at 1±0.5°C.•1-MCP down-regulates transcript levels of AcACS, AcACO, and AcLOX.•Hardy kiwifruit extracts show anticancer properties against Hep3B and HeLa cells. Hardy kiwifruits (Actinidia arguta) were treated with 20μl/l 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) for 16h at 10°C and subsequently stored at 1±0.5°C. Anticancer properties of the fruit extracts were tested against five different human cancer cells. The hardy kiwifruits, without 1-MCP treatment, showed increases in both respiration and ethylene production rates during fruit storage. The 1-MCP treatment remarkably inhibited fruit ripening by reducing respiration and ethylene production. Fruits with the 1-MCP treatment could be stored for up to 5weeks by maintaining higher fruit firmness, ascorbic acid and total phenolic contents compared to the control. The hardy kiwifruit extracts showed anti-proliferative effects to Hep3B and HeLa cells but not to HT29, HepG2 and LoVo cells. These results suggest that the application of 1-MCP at harvest effectively delayed the ripening process of the fruits, and the fruit extract had beneficial effects for the prevention of human cancer growth.