Thermal processing of 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid in the UHT region in the presence of oxygen

The thermal degradation of 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid (5-MTHFA) in the presence of oxygen was investigated in the UHT region at 110 °C, 120 °C, 140 °C and 150 °C. The folate was processed in the presence of two different oxygen levels (0.3 and 6.8ppm) in a phosphate buffer at pH 7. The degradation was found to be first-order with respect to the folate. rhenius activation energy for the aerobic and the anaerobic degradation was determined to be 106 kJ mol−1ʹ and 62 kJ mol−1, respectively. vestigation shows that a low oxygen concentration during processing at UHT temperatures will decrease the folate degradation, but will not completely prevent it.