chains may result in chain association in an ‘egg-box’ structure. Such a phenomenon results in an overall increase in firmness.9 Vacuum infusion with PME and calcium has also been reported to increase the firmness of peaches and strawberries.6,7,15 Conversely, Banjongsinsiri et al.11 reported that infusion with Valencia PME and calcium under vacuum (85 kPa or 16.1% vacuum) for 10 min at room temperature did not improve the firmness of mango cubes. They also found a heat-sensitive PME inhibitor in mango that could inhibit the activity of Valencia PME. PME inhibitors have been reported to be active against several plant PMEs (e.g. those from kiwi, orange, apple, tomato, apricot, carrot, potato and banana), whereas they do not inhibit fungal PMEs.16 Consequently, our study, which used a fungal PME, demonstrated the efficiency of PME and calcium in improving the texture of fresh mango cubes.