Premium
Oxidative behaviour of fresh‐cut ‘Fuji’ apples treated with stabilising substances
Author(s) -
Larrigaudière Christian,
Ubach Dolors,
Soria Yolanda,
RojasGraü Ma Alejandra,
MartínBelloso Olga
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.3279
Subject(s) - ascorbic acid , catalase , preservative , browning , chemistry , superoxide dismutase , oxidative damage , food science , oxidative phosphorylation , peroxidase , antioxidant , biochemistry , enzyme
BACKGROUND: Although changes in the quality of fresh‐cut products treated with chemical stabilisers have been extensively described in the literature, very little is known about the physiology of these products. This work aims to describe the physiological aspect and particularly the effects of chemical preservatives on the oxidative behaviour of fresh‐cut apples. RESULTS: Immediately after treatment, the samples treated with the anti‐browning agents (ascorbic acid + cysteine) exhibited a sharp increase in H 2 O 2 levels (a five‐fold increase when compared to the other samples) and peroxidative damage, especially at the beginning of the storage period (two‐fold increase after 1 day). In line with this result, peroxidase (POX) activity decreased by 50% during the first day of storage, but no significant changes in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were found between the different samples. H 2 O 2 accumulation was not attributed to the action of cysteine but to a specific action of ascorbic acid, which mainly acted as a pro‐oxidant under these conditions. CONCLUSION: The results presented in this work showed that ascorbic acid cause important oxidative damage in fresh‐cut Fuji apples. Alternatives are required to prevent detrimental loss of quality resulting from this oxidative action. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry