Abstract:Abstract: To investigate the effect of light emitting diode (LED) irradiation on the shelf quality of Pleurotus eryngii after harvest. The Pleurotus eryngii was treated with LED irradiation with different light qualities and densities at the temperature of 12~15 ℃. The treatment without LED irradiation, the light condition of supermarket shelves [28 μmol/(m2.s)] and the supermarket lighting [4.3 μmol/(m2.s)] were used as the control 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Through analyzing the phenotype of Pleurotus eryngii, the light conditions of LED blue-white composite light (blue light: green light: red light=8.4:2.3:1.3) was suitable for storing Pleurotus eryngii. Then, the effect of LED blue-white composite light on the postharvest browning process of Pleurotus eryngii was studied by exploring the light quality ratio selected above as the treatment group. The control groups were set as the same mentioned above, and the blue light [8 μmol/(m2.s)] positive control group was added. The results show that compared with the control group, LED blue-white composite light increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and catalase and DPPH free radical scavenging ability of Pleurotus eryngii What’s more, the treatment reduced the production rate of superoxide anion radicals and hydrogen peroxide content, thus, protected the Pleurotus eryngii cell from reactive oxygen species damage and inhibited the increase of relative conductivity and malondialdehyde content. Additionally, the composite LED irradiation reduced the activity of polyphenol oxidase, and maintained a high total phenol content, and consequently, delayed the browning process of Pleurotus eryngii. During days of 2~8, the browning degree of the blue-white composite LED treated group was lower by 2.24~5.00、1.59~3.23、0.90~1.77 times than those of the control 1, 2 and 3, respectively. On this basis, it was found that the blue-white composite LED irradiation (blue: green: red light = 8.4: 2.3: 1.3) was able to alleviate the browning process and maintain the quality of Pleurotus eryngii, through using the method of principal component analysis and correlation analysis. Therefore, this research could provide theoretical and technical support for the application of LED irradiation on the preservation of edible fungi.