High hydrostatic pressure protection of a pectinase cocktail against thermal inactivation Original Research Article

Pectinase cocktails, containing pectinases, hemicellulases, and cellulases are used in the production of commercial apple juice to reduce juice viscosity, increase yield, and to clarify the final product. The kinetics of inactivation of a commercial pectinase formulation was studied at 0.1–400 MPa and 55.0–85.0 °C. High hydrostatic pressure slowed the rate of inactivation of the pectinase cocktail treated at inactivating temperature conditions by up to 19-fold at 77.0 °C, 350 MPa compared to inactivation at atmospheric pressure at the same temperature. Apparent activation energies of enzyme inactivation at 200–400 MPa were lower (107.3–154.4 kJ mol−1) than at 0.1 MPa (195.6 kJ mol−1).