CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYPHENOL OXIDASE AND PEROXIDASE AND INFLUENCE ON BROWNING OF COLD STORED STRAWBERRY FRUIT

Polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase were extracted from two different varieties of strawberry fruit (Fragaria x ananassa D, cv. 'Elsanta' and Fragaria vesca L, cv. 'Madame Moutot') and characterized using reliable spectrophotometric methods. In all cases, the enzymes followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics, showing different values of peroxidase kinetics parameters between the two cultivars: Km = 50.68 ± 2.42 mM ('Elsanta') and 18.18 ± 8.79 mM ('Madame Moutot') mM and Vmax = 0.14 ± 0.03 U/g ('Elsanta') and 0.05 ± 0.01 U/g ('Madame Moutot'). The physiological pH of fruit at the red ripe stage negatively affected the expression of both oxidases, except polyphenol oxidase from 'Madame Moutot' that showed the highest residual activity (68% of the maximum). Peroxidase from both cultivars was much more thermolable as compared with PPO, losing over 60% of relative activity already after 60 min of incubation at 40°C. The POD activation energy was much lower than the PPO activation energy (ΔE‡ = 97.5 and 57.8 kJ mol-1 for 'Elsanta' and 'Madame Moutot', respectively). Results obtained from D-glucose and D-fructose inhibition tests evidenced a decreasing course of PPO and POD activities from both cultivars as the sugar concentration in the assay medium increased. Changes in CIE L*, a*, b*, chroma, and hue angle values were taken as a browning index of the samples during storage at 4°C. A decrease in L* was evident in both cultivars but more marked in 'Elsanta'. PPO and POD activities from cv. 'Elsanta' were very well-correlated with the parameter L* (r2 = 0.86 and 0.89, respectively) and hue angle (r2 = 0.85 and 0.93, respectively). According to these results, the browning of the fruit seemed to be in relation to both oxidase activities.