Influence of vacuum impregnation and pulsed electric field on the freezing temperature and ice propagation rates of spinach leaves

- Vacuum impregnation with sugars decreases the ice propagation rate in spinach leaves.
- Vacuum impregnation with sugars increases the freezing temperature of spinach leaves.
- PEF treatment increases the ice propagation rate in trehalose-impregnated leaves.

Efforts are currently directed towards improving the quality of sensitive tissues of fruits and vegetables after freezing and thawing. One of the methods under investigation is the combination of vacuum impregnation (VI) with cryoprotectants and pulsed electric field (PEF), applied to the plant tissue prior exposure to freezing. The influence of these processes on the freezing temperature and ice propagation rate of spinach baby leaves are here studied. Leaves impregnated with trehalose, sucrose, glucose and mannitol exhibited significantly lower ice propagation rate and higher freezing temperatures in comparison to non-treated controls. Leaves subjected to PEF also showed increased freezing temperatures compared to the non-treated leaves; however the ice propagation rate was not influenced by PEF for the cryoprotectants used in the study, except for leaves impregnated with trehalose, where it was significantly increased and water, where it was significantly decreased. The combination of VI and PEF resulted in comparable freezing temperatures and ice propagation rates as the leaves subjected only to VI.