Selective enzyme inactivation in a simulated system and in cabbage juice using electrospray technology

Enzyme inactivation is vital in fruit and vegetable juice processing, and selective inactivation is a major focus of enzyme inactivation. We used electrospray treatment to investigate directional enzyme inactivation in cabbage juice. Peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase in cabbage juice are the enzymes causing deterioration, whereas myrosinase is a beneficial enzyme. The particle size distribution, zeta potential and secondary and tertiary structures of the enzyme proteins were evaluated before and after enzyme inactivation. After the electrospray treatment, the relative activities of peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and myrosinase in the mixed-enzyme simulation system were 4.09%, 5.62% and 84.67%, respectively, and those in the cabbage juice were 6.68%, 5.24% and 77.34%, respectively. Additionally, electrospray treatment induced substantial aggregation of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase in the mixed-enzyme solution, and the secondary and tertiary structures of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase were destroyed. Moreover, the conformation of myrosinase was preserved. These findings indicated that electrospray treatment can cause selective inactivation of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase while preserving myrosinase activity.

Automated summary

The study demonstrated that electrospray treatment can selectively inactivate peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase in cabbage juice while preserving my activities, leading to substantial aggregation and destruction of secondary and tertiary structures of the former enzymes, while retaining the conformation and activity of myrosinase.