The process of oxidative browning, in commercial fruits and vegetables, is a part of a defense response that occurs when a wound or infection occurs. Previously published results showed that a group of metallo-enzymes called Polyphenol Oxidases (PPO’s) play critical roles in the browning process. Although substantial research has been done on the enzyme, the products of the oxidation remain largely unexplored. Attenuated Total Reflection - Fourier Transform Infra-Red (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy is used for qualitative and quantitative characterization of the functional groups of the organic compounds. In this research, we mapped the oxidation products of browning of three different varieties of apples. Apples were oxidized for one hour and compared with an unoxidized control. The products were isolated using various solvents and characterized utilizing the ATR-FTIR. Further, a multivariate statistical approach using “R” statistical language was applied for pattern recognition and quantitative analysis. Both qualitative and quantitative information on tissue browning will be presented.

Characterization of tissue browning products using attenuated total reflection: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

249th National Meeting (2015)

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