Enzymatic, Phyto-, and Physicochemical Evaluation of Apple Juice under High-Pressure Carbon Dioxide and Thermal Processing

In this study, the changes in enzyme activities, total polyphenols, phenolic profile, and physicochemical properties from thermally (25–75 °C) and high-pressure carbon dioxide (HP-CO2) (25–65 °C/20 MPa)-treated apple juice were investigated. The HP-CO2 exhibited complete inactivation of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) at 65 °C, whereas PPO was still active at 75 °C under thermal processing (TP). Similarly, the relative activity of peroxidase (POD) significantly decreased by 71% at 65 °C under HP-CO2 processing, whereas TP was less effective. HP-CO2 and TP treatments at 65 °C reduced the browning degree (BD) value to 0.47 and 0.89, respectively. Thus, HP-CO2 inhibits the browning reactions caused by PPO and POD enzymes at each operating temperature. The concentration of epicatechin and catechin increased significantly with increasing temperature above 45 °C in TP-treated juices. HP-CO2 treatment increased the same phenolic compounds at 35 °C and 9 MPa, whereas high-temperature and -pressure conditions caused insignificant changes in concentration of epicatechin and catechin. Changes in others phenolic compounds were insignificant under TP and HP-CO2 treatment. Overall, HP-CO2 is a promising technology to get high-quality juices with lower enzyme activity.