Kinetics of carotenoids degradation and furosine formation in dried apricots (Prunus armeniaca L.)

•Kinetics of carotenoid decrease and furosine formation were studied in dried apricots•Furosine increased during drying at 50 and 60 °C with the highest formation at 70 °C•The activation energy (Ea) for carotenoids was 97 kJ/mol, higher than that of color•Violaxanthin and anteraxanthin were the most sensitive carotenoids to heat treatment

The kinetics of carotenoid and color degradation, as well as furosine formation, were investigated in apricot fruits during convective heating at 50, 60 and 70 °C. Degradation of carotenoids and color, expressed as total color difference (TCD), followed a first and zero order kinetic, respectively. The activation energy (Ea) for carotenoids degradation ranged from 73.7 kJ/mol for 13-cis-β-carotene to 120.7 kJ/mol for lutein, being about 91 kJ/mol for all-trans-β-carotene. Violaxanthin and anteraxanthin were the most susceptible to thermal treatment. The furosine evolution was fitted at zero order kinetic model. The Ea for furosine formation was found to be 83.3 kJ/mol and the Q10 (temperature coefficient) varied from 1.59 to 4.14 at the temperature ranges 50-60 °C and 60-70 °C, respectively.

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