Comparison of the inactivation kinetics of pectin methylesterases from carrot and peach by high-pressure carbon dioxide

The inactivation of pectin methylesterases (PMEs) from carrot and peach in buffer by high-pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) at 55 °C was investigated. The two PMEs were effectively inactivated by HPCD, their residual activity (RA) decreasing with increasing pressures. The RA of the two PMEs exhibited a fast decrease firstly and reached a constant after a prolonged treatment time; their inactivation kinetics was adequately modelled by a fractional-conversion model. The non-zero RA(A∞)of the two PMEs was 6–7%, with increasing pressures the kinetic rate constant, k, increased and the decimal reduction time, D, decreased for the HPCD-labile fraction of the two PMEs. The labile fraction of carrot PME was more susceptible to HPCD than that of peach PME; the activation volume, Va, and ZP (the temperature increase needed for a 90% reduction of D) was −1079.37 cm3/mol and 5.80 MPa for carrot PME, and −130.51 cm3/mol and 48.31 MPa for peach PME.