The effect of thermal and ultrasound treatments on the physicochemical properties (pH, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, electrical conductivity, viscosity and color attributes), bioactive compounds (ascorbic acid, total pheolics and total anthocyanins) and antioxidant activity of strawberry puree was investigated. No significant difference in pH, total soluble solids and titratable acidity was observed among the treated and control samples whether thermal or ultrasound treatments were used. Ultrasound treatments significantly increased the electrical conductivity, while significantly reducing the viscosity of strawberry puree samples. Ultrasound treatments were found to better maintain or increase the bioactive compounds and the color attributes compared to the thermally treated samples. Ultrasound treatments significantly increased the radical scavenging activity compared to that of the control sample except when the ultrasound treatment was carried out at 0.42 W/mL for 20 and 30 min. These results indicate that ultrasound treatments can greatly improve the quality of strawberry puree.Keywords: power ultrasound, thermal treatment, strawberry puree, antioxidant activity, phenolic, anthocyanin
IntroductionStrawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is a soft, juicy and palatable berry available during the spring-summer period.Strawberry is highly appreciated for its excellent organoleptic properties such as red color, smooth texture, and exquisite taste and flavor. It is also a good source of micronutrients and phytochemical compounds particularly ascorbic acid, anthocyanins and phenolic compounds (Cao et al., 2012). Strawberry is mostly consumed fresh but it is also processed into jams, juice, canned products and added into dairy products such as yoghurt (Terefe et al., 2010).Unfortunately, it is a readily perishable fruit because it is susceptible to fungal attacks and physical damage (Lara et al., 2004). Therefore, it is essential to find a suitable method to extend its shelf-life and maintain its quality for better commercialization.To date, thermal treatment is the most commonly used technology to inactivate enzymes and destroy microorganisms.However, it also brings about undesirable changes in the food properties, such as loss of nutrients and changes in color, flavor and texture. Therefore, there is a need to develop alternative methods which enhance microbiological stability and to better preserve the nutrients of strawberry. It is expected that ultrasound as one of the novel non-thermal processing technologies can be used as an alternative of the thermal processing (Tiwari et al., 2009c).
In general, ultrasound in 20_ 1000 KHz range can be divided into two zones namely: (1) high frequency (100 _ 1000 kHz) low energy ultrasound, (2) low frequency (20 _ 100 kHz) high energy power ultrasound (Golmohamadi et al., 2013). When power ultrasound propagates in liquid, cavitation bubbles are generated due to rapid change in pressure. Collapse of these bubbles in the subsequent compression cycles of ultrasonic ...