Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVIII, Issue 1
Written by Gabriela Elena STAN, Minodora TUDORACHE, Alexandra Ioana ALEXE, Lovita ADRIANI, Andrada Elena MOISE
The stability of nutrients in apple juice during storage is critical for maintaining its nutritional quality and shelf life. This study investigated the kinetics of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and polyphenol degradation in pasteurized apple juice under varying storage temperatures (4°C, 25°C, and 35°C) over 60 days. Degradation followed first-order reaction kinetics, with rate constants (k) determined experimentally. The Arrhenius equation was applied to model the temperature dependence of degradation, revealing activation energies (Ea) for vitamin C and for polyphenols, indicating higher thermal sensitivity of vitamin C. A Q10 analysis was used in order to evaluate the vitamin C and polyphenols acceleration of degradation with time and temperature. The results highlight the importance of refrigerated storage (4°C) to minimize losses, with vitamin C retention exceeding 85% after 60 days at 4°C, compared to <40% at 35°C. These findings provide actionable insights for optimizing apple juice storage conditions and predicting shelf life using accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT).
[Read full article] [Citation]
