RESUMO

ABSTRACT The inactivation of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase and the degradation of phenolic compounds, anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity in blackberry were investigated during blanching in water at 80-90 °C, and in steam, from 0 to 10 minutes. The enzyme kinetics indicated the presence of two isoenzymes with different thermal stability, following two-phase model, in which the reaction rate constant increased with increasing temperature for both the heat labile and heat resistant component. The phenolic compounds also followed a biphasic pattern, indicating a more heat resistant fraction, and the rate constants increased with increasing temperature. For the antioxidant activity and anthocyanins, the first order kinetic model (R2>0.982) indicated an increase in degradation rate constants with temperature, from 0.050 to 0.137min-1 for DPPH, 0.085 to 0.285min-1 for ABTS, and 0.017 to 0.052 min-1 for anthocyanins.