Ascorbic acid degradation kinetics of sonicated orange juice during storage and comparison with thermally pasteurised juice

Abstract

Abstract Ascorbic acid degradation kinetics of sonicated orange juice during storage were determined and compared to thermally pasteurised samples. Acoustic energy densities (AED) ranging from 0.30 to 0.81 W/mL and treatment times of 2–10 min were investigated. The degradation kinetics of sonicated samples followed first-order kinetics ( R 2 ≥ 0.91) during processing. During storage ascorbic acid degradation of sonicated samples followed the Weibull model ( R 2 ≥ 0.97) with β values ranging from 0.662 to 0.697. Comparatively, first-order degradation kinetics were observed during storage for thermally pasteurised ( R 2 = 0.98) and control samples ( R 2 = 0.96). Increased shelf life based on ascorbic acid retention was found for sonicated samples compared to thermally pasteurised samples. Predicted shelf life for sonicated orange juice ranged from 27 to 33 days compared to 19 days for thermally pasteurised juice during storage at 10 °C. These results indicate that sonication results in enhanced retention of ascorbic acid in orange juice during storage compared to thermal processing.