Effects of packaging and storage temperatures on the bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of dried Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. During long-term storage

•Vacuum and 4 °C storage retained the bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity.•Glass bottle packaging was suitable for the volatile oil preservation.•Shelf lives determined by the kinetics, principal component and loss rates analysis. The bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of Zanthoxylum bungeanum are highly dependent on the packaging and storage temperature. This study investigated the changes in the bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of dried ‘Fengjiao’ Z. bungeanum stored in polyethylene packaging (PE), vacuum packaging (VP) and glass bottle packaging (GP) at room temperature (20±2 °C) and in PE at a cold temperature of 4 °C (PEC) for 18 months. The results showed that VP treatment most effectively maintained the color, bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of Z. bungeanum at room temperature. The GP treatment maintained the volatile oil content with a loss of only 7% at 18 months. The quality of the PEC treatment was significantly better than that of the PE treatment. Compared with the VP and GP treatments, the PEC treatment more effectively retained the bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity, except for anthocyanins and total flavonoids. The kinetic, principal component and loss percentage analyses together confirmed that the appropriate shelf lives for the PE, GP, VP and PEC treatments were no longer than 9, 12, 15 and 15 months, respectively, and the VP and PEC treatments were judged to be superior packaging and temperature treatments for long-term storage of Z. bungeanum.