Enzyme Inactivation in Food Processing using High Pressure Carbon Dioxide Technology

Abstract

High pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) is an effective non-thermal processing technique for inactivating deleterious enzymes in liquid and solid food systems. This processing method avoids high temperatures and exerts a minimal impact on the nutritional and sensory properties of foods, but extends shelf life by inhibiting or killing microorganisms and enzymes. Indigenous enzymes in food such as polyphenol oxidase (PPO), pectin methylesterase (PME), and lypoxygenase (LOX) may cause undesirable chemical changes in food attributes, showing the loss in color, texture, and flavor. For more than two decades, HPCD has proved its effectiveness in inactivating these enzymes. The HPCD-induced inactivation of some microbial enzymes responsible for microbial metabolism is also included. This review presents a survey of the published knowledge regarding the use of HPCD for the inactivation of these enzymes, and analyzes the factors controlling the efficiency of HPCD and speculates on the underlying mechanism that leads to enzyme inactivation.

Keywords:

• high pressure carbon dioxide
• enzyme inactivation
• inactivation mechanism
• inactivation kinetic

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by research project No. 2011AA100801 of the 863 High-Tech Plan of China, research project No. 2011-G20 of Recommend International Advanced Agricultural Science and Technology Plan (948 project) of China, research project No. 200903009 of Agricultural Science and Technology of Ministry of Agriculture, research project No. 30571297 and 31171770 of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 6062015 of Beijing National Natural Science Foundation, and No. 2006BAD05A02 of the Science and Technology Support in the 11th Five-year Plan of China.