Inhibition of Browning on Fresh-cut Pear Wedges by Natural Compounds

ABSTRACT: Mechanical operations such as peeling and cutting during minimal processing involve enzymatic browning of fruit tissue. The objective of this work was to evaluate the individual and combined effects of N-acetyl-L-cysteine, reduced glutathione, ascorbic acid, and 4-hexylresorcinol to control pear browning. Browning of fresh-cut pears was prevented by a minimum concentration of 0.75% N-acetyl-L-cysteine up to 28 d at 4°C. Reduced glutathione treatments were also effective along the storage time although browning was observed after 21 d of storage with a dip of 0.75% reduced glutathione. However, ascorbic acid or 4-hexylresorcinol treatments did not seem to completely prevent browning of pear wedges throughout the storage period. An enhanced antibrowning effect was observed when combining both N-acetyl-L-cysteine and reduced glutathione, considering hue angle as color change index. Thus, hue angle reached maximum levels at 1.5% N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) or 1.5% glutathione (GSH) and 1% NAC with 1% GSH for 28 d. Besides, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, reduced glutathione and 4-hexylresorcinol completely inhibited polyphenol oxidase activity as well as browning inhibitors slightly reduced firmness of fresh-cut pears.

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