Browsing by Author "Silvennoinen, Anni"

A common quality issue in fresh-cut vegetables is enzymatic browning. Anti-browning agents regulated by (EU) N:o 1129/2011 can be used in processing and vegetables are usually treated with compounds after washing and cutting. Polyphenol oxidase enzyme (PPO) in vegetables ox-idises phenolic compounds to quinones and brown melanin pigments are formed when reactive quinones polymerize. The literature review focused on phenolic compounds of apples, the mech-anism of action and inhibition of PPO. In addition, the review covered anti-browning agents in-vestigated in previous studies and physical inhibition methods for enzymatic browning. The aim of the experimental study was to find a mixture of anti-browning agents classified as a processing aid for fresh-cut apple with the help of the experimental design. In addition, apples treated with three different concentrations of calcium ascorbate were also investigated. The colour of the treated apples was measured using a colorimeter, the activity of PPO was determined spec-trophotometrically and the concentrations of the most common phenolic compounds of Granny Smith were determined by Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC). The concentrations of anti-browning agents of the mixtures in PLSR model did not have a statis-tically significant effect on colour and the coefficient of determination was satisfactory. The ap-ples from the experimental design maintained their colour over one but less than five days and the apples treated with calcium ascorbate maintained their colour for one week which was the targeted shelf life. The PPO activity of the samples from the experimental design increased during the storage but activity of the samples treated with calcium ascorbate was zero all the time. The standard deviations of concentrations of phenolic compounds were high and no clear trend re-garding the change of concentrations and browning was noticed. The three major phenolic com-pounds of Granny Smith were (-)-epicatechin, (+)-catechin and chlorogenic acid. The concentra-tions of catechins were higher in the peel than in the flesh but for chlorogenic acid it was the opposite. The shelf life of one week was not achieved with the mixtures of the experimental design but calcium ascorbate acted effectively. Also compounds in the mixtures had the ability to inhibit the PPO because the apples did not start to brown immediately as the control samples treated with water. The results confirmed previous results from the literature that calcium ascorbate is an effective anti-browning agent and therefore it is one of the most common anti-browning agents in the fresh-cut industry.