Degradation kinetics of vitamin E during ultrasound application and the adjustment in avocado purée by tocopherol acetate addition

• Ultrasound application reduces the vitamin E content in avocado purée.
• Degradation of vitamin E increases with increasing ultrasound power density.
• Tocopherol acetate is slightly influenced by ultrasound application.
• Tocopherol acetate could be added to avocado purée prior to ultrasound processing.

Degradation of vitamin E is a negative effect of ultrasound processing. In this study, we have evaluated the impact of ultrasonic power-density and temperature on the kinetics of vitamin E degradation in avocado purée, which is a good source of vitamin E. Ultrasonic power-densities ranging from 55 to 5000 W/L were tested at two temperatures: 23 (ambient) and 40 °C. Reductions in vitamin E content up to 79% were observed in avocado purée. Experiments under the same conditions showed that tocopherol acetate was unaffected by ultrasonic processing, thus avocado purée was supplemented with tocopherol acetate to maintain the total vitamin E content as the untreated purée. The addition of tocopherol acetate was successful in controlling the vitamin E content during ultrasound processing. The findings of this work show how to overcome the limitations of ultrasound processing by the industry and how to provide customers with a more nutritious product.