Harvested longan fruits were surface sterilized with 75% ethanol and then dipped for 5 min in a solution containing 5% and 10% w/v of citric, ascorbic or oxalic acid. After air-drying, the fruits were placed into plastic boxes, overwrapped with plastic film, and stored at 25 1C. For each treatment, six replicates were tested. Pericarp browning was estimated by measuring the extent of total browned area on each fruit surface on the following scale: 1 ¼ no browning, 2 ¼ slight browning (o20%), 3 ¼ moderate browning (20–40%), 4 ¼ moderated-serious browning (40–60%) and 5 ¼ serious browning (460%). A browning
index was calculated, using the following formula: Σ (browning scale _ proportion of corresponding fruits
within each class).