Combined osmodehydration and high pressure processing on the enzyme stability and antioxidant capacity of a grapefruit jam

A combined osmodehydration process and high pressure treatment (OD–HHP) was developed for grapefruit jam preservation. The inactivation kinetics of pectin methylesterase (PME) and peroxidase (POD) in the osmodehydrated (OD) jam treated by combined thermal (45–75 °C) and high pressure (550–700 MPa) processes were fitted using special cases of first-order kinetics, the fractional conversion and biphasic models and the Weibull distribution function. No complete inactivation was achieved by any combination of temperature and pressure, and 27–40% and 51–70% of PME and POD, respectively, were pressure-stable fractions. Two PME fractions with different pressure stabilities were observed and kinetic models successfully explained that behavior. POD was found to be very baroresistant and only the labile fraction could be inactivated. The extent of enzyme inactivation was lower in the OD jam in comparison with other food matrices showing a protective effect against the high pressure treatment. The antioxidant capacity was not affected by any treatment. The proposed high pressure preservation processing was able to improve the enzymatic stability of jam obtained by osmotic dehydration without affecting the bioactive content.

► Osmotic dehydration without the involvement of high temperature was used to prepare grapefruit jam.
► High pressure with elevated processing temperature improved the enzymatic stability of the osmodehydrated jam.
► Peroxidase was more baroresistant than pectin methylesterase in grapefruit jam.
► Combined osmodehydration and high pressure processing did not affect antioxidant properties of the jam.
► Nutritious fruit jam can be produced using the combined processing technologies.