Modelling the interactions between free phenols, l-ascorbic acid, apple polyphenoloxidase and oxygen during a thermal treatment

The kinetics of degradation of chlorogenic acid (CG), (−) epicatechin (EPI), l-ascorbic acid (AA) and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activity from Marie-Ménard apple in pH 3.8 solutions at 20 and 50 °C were investigated to provide information on the impact of the presence of CG, EPI and/or AA on PPO thermostability. The effect of the heat treatment on their degradation by enzymatic and/or nonenzymatic ways was also studied. Stoechiokinetic reactions on the basis of experimental data and literature and determination of the kinetic constants (k) at 20 and 50 °C were elaborated before modelling the interaction among reactants, by fitting the reaction curves to predictive model. Apple PPO was thermolabile, denaturing after 10 min at 70 °C. Losses of PPO activity were favoured by the presence of EPI in model solutions, compared with CG, due to the formation of o-quinones of EPI (QEPI) lowering PPO stability. Temperature quickened both enzymatic phenol oxidations before PPO deteriorated and the whole set of the chemical reactions, including the production of secondary oxidation products and CG or EPI regeneration. Results also confirmed that AA in excess induced a fast regeneration of CG and EPI from the corresponding o-quinones formed enzymatically via redox chemical reactions.