chitosan significantly delayed the accumulation of cellulose whichmay be due to the suppressed PAL and POD activities comparedwith 0.5% chitosan and control.In conclusion, the date obtained in the present study showedthat application of chitosan coating reduced respiration rate andweight loss, preserved firmness and total chlorophyll content,maintained the content of ascorbic acid and total phenolics, andsuppressed PPO activity. Furthermore, 1.0% chitosan significantlydelayed the increase of cellulose, and markedly suppressed PODand PAL activities. Therefore, the use of chitosan could be a use-ful method to retain postharvest quality and extended shelf life ofsponge gourd.AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture ofChina for financial support No. CARS-25, special fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public interest No. 201203095 andInnovation Fund of Beijing Academy of Agricultural and ForestrySciences No. 201304.