Comparison of physical, microstructural, antioxidant and enzymatic properties of pineapple cubes treated with conventional heating, ohmic heating and high-pressure processing

Pineapple cubes in sugar syrup were treated with high-pressure processing (HPP), conventional (DIM) heating and ohmic heating (OHM). Samples were compared in terms of microstructural, physical (total soluble solids, sieve analysis, texture and colour) and residual pectin methylesterase activity (PME) and total antioxidant capacity. OHM yielded relevant changes in cellular microstructure and electroporation of the cell wall. The HPP treatment favoured the presence of soluble solids in the syrup, and the samples were less damaged in terms of shape and microstructure. in the samples were harder following HPP than they were with OHM and DIM, while HPP showed the highest colorimetric (ΔE) differences compared with RAW samples. The PME residual activity was the lowest in pineapple treated by DIM, while the antioxidant capacity was comparable among treated samples.