Impact of high-pressure carbon dioxide on polyphenoloxidase activity and stability of fresh apple juice

•HP-CO2 treatment promotes partial inactivation of polyphenoloxidase in apple juice.•HP-CO2 treatment increases microbial stability of apple juice.•HP-CO2 treatment does not impair apple juice fresh-likelihood.

Freshly-extracted apple juice was exposed to high pressure carbon dioxide (HP-CO2) treatment at 20, 35 and 45 °C at different pressure conditions (6.0, 12.0 and 18.0 MPa) for up to 30 min. Samples were analysed for residual enzymatic activity. The time needed for 90% enzyme inactivation (Dp) decreased when CO2 pressure increased, while the CO2 pressure sensitivity of the enzyme (zp) showed no variation with temperature. The HP-CO2 treatment at 12 MPa and 35 °C allowed the minimum residual enzyme activity (20%) to be reached in 10 min. Samples treated under these conditions showed lower polyphenoloxidase activity and higher microbial stability than untreated apple juice while presenting a sensory fresh-likelihood higher than thermally pasteurized apple juice.