Premium
Effect of Alkaline Electrolyzed Water as an Inhibitor of Enzymatic Browning in R ed D elicious Apples
Author(s) -
Kim Mi Jeong,
Hung YenCon
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of food biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.507
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-4514
pISSN - 0145-8884
DOI - 10.1111/jfbc.12086
Subject(s) - browning , polyphenol oxidase , chemistry , ascorbic acid , food science , citric acid , catechol oxidase , sodium metabisulfite , shelf life , biochemistry , enzyme , peroxidase
Polyphenol oxidase ( PPO ) activity, hue angle, chroma and browning index ( BI ) of alkaline electrolyzed ( EO ) water‐treated apples were compared with apples treated with other anti‐browning agents (ascorbic acid, citric acid and sodium metabisulfite). Alkaline EO water was shown to reduce PPO activity by about 66%. Apples treated in alkaline EO water for 5 min had less reduction on hue angle (97.0–91.1) after 24‐h storage than apples treated with deionized water (93.4–83.7) and hence less brown. Apples treated in alkaline EO water also had lower BI (40.8) after 24 h than ascorbic acid‐treated apples (47.6). Alkaline EO water when combined with other anti‐browning agents to treat apple was more effective on preventing browning than with the individual anti‐browning agents alone. This study demonstrated that alkaline EO water can be a promising treatment solution to prevent browning and thereby enhance the quality of fresh‐cut apples. Practical Applications The prevention of browning in fresh‐cut produce is important for maintaining the quality of minimally processed products. A lot of anti‐browning agents were used to prevent the enzymatic browning. However, some anti‐browning compounds are associated with potential health hazards. Therefore, the use of natural anti‐browning agents is still needed to produce healthy products with high quality. The anti‐browning properties observed in alkaline electrolyzed ( EO ) water suggested that it can be a promising treatment solution to prevent browning and thereby enhance the quality of fresh‐cut apples. Alkaline EO water is environment friendly, safe for human contact and can be produced on site when needed.