The postharvest senescence of fresh products is often associated
with increased oxidative damage to proteins, lipids and nucleic
acids by ROS and thus their production and removal must be
strictly controlled (Mittler, 2002). ROS production can be enhanced
in response to various biotic and abiotic stress conditions (Gill and
Tuteja, 2010). Postharvest storage can be considered as a kind of
abiotic stress for mushrooms as the storage conditions are quite
different from the growing conditions, which can lead to electron
transport inhibition in mitochondria as well as increased ROS
production (Li et al., 2013). Oxidative damage occurs when ROS
levels exceed the capacity of the defense mechanisms to neutralize
them causing “oxidative stress” (Sharma et al., 2012), which then
leads to oxidation of lipids and proteins, nucleic acids damage,
enzyme inhibition and membrane damage in both cellular and
organelle membranes. Therefore, mushrooms need special care,
especially during storage so as to retain freshness.