Czech J. Food Sci., 2026, 44(2):132-140 | DOI: 10.17221/125/2025-CJFS

Enhanced inactivation of pectin methylesterase in passion fruit juice by ohmic heatingOriginal Paper

NhuKhue Doan ORCID...1, ThiHuong Nguyen1, NhatTam Le1, MinhTuan Pham1, QuocDat Lai2,3
1 Institute of Biotechnology and Food Technology, Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2 Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
3 Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This study investigated the effectiveness of ohmic heating (OH) for the inactivation of pectin methylesterase (PME) in passion fruit juice. PME is a heat-resistant enzyme responsible for juice cloud loss and quality deterioration during storage and is therefore commonly used as an indicator of pasteurisation efficiency. Juice samples were initially heated from 20 to 70 °C and subsequently held at 70 °C for 10 s while being subjected to different electric field strengths (20–40 V·cm–1) and frequencies ranging from 50 to 10 000 Hz. The highest PME inactivation was observed at 60 Hz, and increasing electric field strength further enhanced the inactivation effect. Based on these results, a frequency of 60 Hz and an electric field strength of 30 V·cm–1 were selected for subsequent experiments. The effects of temperature (60–90 °C) and holding time (0–90 s) on PME inactivation during OH treatment were then evaluated and compared with conventional heating (CH). OH treatment at 90 °C for 70 s resulted in approximately 90% PME inactivation, which was 10.2% higher than that achieved by CH. In addition, OH treatment caused no significant additional degradation of ascorbic acid, total polyphenols, or antioxidant activity, indicating that the applied electric field did not adversely affect these bioactive compounds. These findings demonstrate that ohmic heating is a promising and mild pasteurisation technology for fruit juice processing.

Keywords: nzyme inactivation; electrical processing; juice stability; pasteurisation efficiency; bioactive compounds

Received: July 31, 2025; Revised: February 1, 2026; Accepted: February 2, 2026; Published: April 29, 2026  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Doan N, ThiHuong N, Le N, Pham M, Lai Q. Enhanced inactivation of pectin methylesterase in passion fruit juice by ohmic heating. Czech Journal of Food Sciences. 2026;44(2):132-140. doi: 10.17221/125/2025-CJFS.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    Supplementary files:

    Download file125-2025-CJFS_ESM.pdf

    File size: 97.49 kB

    References

    1. Abedelmaksoud T.G., Mohsen S.M., Duedahl Olesen L., Elnikeety M.M., Feyissa A.H. (2018): Effect of ohmic heating parameters on inactivation of enzymes and quality of not from concentrate mango juice. Asian Journal of Scientific Research, 11: 383-392. Go to original source...
    2. Barrón García O.Y., Gaytán Martínez M., Ramírez Jiménez A.K., Luzardo-Ocampo I., Velazquez G., Morales-Sanchéz E. (2021): Physicochemical characterization and polyphenol oxidase inactivation of Ataulfo mango pulp pasteurized by conventional and ohmic heating processes. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 143: 111113. Go to original source...
    3. Croak S., Corredig M. (2006): The role of pectin in orange juice stabilization: Effect of pectin methylesterase and pectinase activity on the size of cloud particles. Food Hydrocolloids, 20: 961-965. Go to original source...
    4. Darvishi H., Koushesh Saba M., Behroozi-Khazaei N., Nourbakhsh H. (2020): Improving quality and quantity attributes of grape juice concentrate (molasses) using ohmic heating. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 57: 1362-1370. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    5. Demirdöven A., Baysal T. (2014): Optimization of ohmic heating applications for pectin methylesterase inactivation in orange juice. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 51: 1817-1826. Go to original source...
    6. Doan K.N., Lai D.Q., Le P.T.T.K., Le T.N. (2021): Inactivation of pectin methylesterase and Lactobacillus plantarum by ohmic heating in pomelo juice. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 56: 1987-1995. Go to original source...
    7. Doan N.K., Lai Q.D., Le T.K.P., Le N.T. (2021): Influences of AC frequency and electric field strength on changes in bioactive compounds in ohmic heating of pomelo juice. Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, 72: 102754. Go to original source...
    8. Doan N.K., Nguyen T.H., Le N.T., Phan T.X.U., Lai Q.D., Le T.K.P. (2023): Effects of ohmic heat processing and ascorbic acid on antioxidant compounds and colour of red-fleshed dragon (Hylocereus polyrhizus) fruit juice during storage. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 58: 3819-3826. Go to original source...
    9. Fonseca A.M.A., Geraldi M.V., Junior M.R.M., Silvestre A.J.D., Rocha S.M. (2022): Purple passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. edulis): A comprehensive review on the nutritional value, phytochemical profile and associated health effects. Food Research International, 160: 111665. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    10. Funcia E.S., Gut J.A., Sastry S.K. (2020): Effect of electric field on pectinesterase inactivation during orange juice pasteurization by Ohmic heating. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 13: 1206-1214. Go to original source...
    11. Gülsoy H., Güler Dal H.Ö., Gursoy O., Yilmaz Y. (2025): Effect of Ohmic heating on bioactive contents and quality characteristics of apple juice. Journal of Food Process Engineering, 48: e70262 Go to original source...
    12. Igual M., García Martínez E., Camacho M.M., Martínez Navarrete N. (2010): Effect of thermal treatment and storage on the stability of organic acids and the functional value of grapefruit juice. Food Chemistry, 118: 291-299. Go to original source...
    13. Jakób A., Bryjak J., Wójtowicz H., Illeová V., Annus J., Polakoviè M. (2010): Inactivation kinetics of food enzymes during ohmic heating. Food Chemistry, 123: 369-376. Go to original source...
    14. Jain A., Sethi S., Chopra S., Joshi A., Grover M., Khandelwal A., Sharma R.M., SG L., PM S. (2025): Comparative evaluation of ohmic and conventional heat treatment on process time, microbial quality and bioactive retention of citrus beverages. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 102: 104034. Go to original source...
    15. Jesus M.S., Ballesteros L.F., Pereira R.N., Genisheva Z., Carvalho A.C., Pereira-Wilson C., Teixeira J.A., Domingues L. (2020): Ohmic heating polyphenolic extracts from vine pruning residue with enhanced biological activity. Food Chemistry, 316: 126298. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    16. Jiménez Sánchez C., Lozano Sánchez J., Segura Carretero A., Fernandez-Gutierrez A. (2017a): Alternatives to conventional thermal treatments in fruit juice processing. Part 1: Techniques and applications. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 57: 501-523. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    17. Jiménez Sánchez C., Lozano Sánchez J., Segura Carretero A., Fernández Gutiérrez A. (2017b): Alternatives to conventional thermal treatments in fruit juice processing. Part 2: Effect on composition, phytochemical content, and physicochemical, rheological, and organoleptic properties of fruit juices. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 57: 637-652. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    18. Kaur M., Kumar S., Samota M.K., Lalremmawii (2024): Ohmic heating technology systems, factors governing efficiency and its application to inactivation of pathogenic microbes, enzyme inactivation, and extraction of juice, oil, and bioactive compounds in the food sector. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 17: 299-324. Go to original source...
    19. Kubo M.T.K., Siguemoto É.S., Funcia E.S., Augusto P.E.D., Curet S., Boillereaux L., Sastry S.K., Gut J.A.W. (2020): Non-thermal effects of microwave and ohmic processing on microbial and enzyme inactivation: A critical review. Current Opinion in Food Science, 35: 36-48. Go to original source...
    20. Leizerson S., Shimoni E. (2005): Effect of ultrahigh temperature continuous ohmic heating treatment on fresh orange juice. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53: 3519-3524. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    21. Patel A., Singh M. (2018): Ohmic heating for food products - A review. Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 27: 1-7. Go to original source...
    22. Prestes A.A., Canella M.H.M., Helm C.V., da Cruz A.G., Prudencio E.S. (2023): The use of cold pressing technique associated with emerging nonthermal technologies in the preservation of bioactive compounds in tropical fruit juices: An overview. Current Opinion in Food Science, 51: 101005. Go to original source...
    23. Rinaldi M., Littardi P., Ganino T., Aldini A., Rodolfi M., Barbanti D., Chiavaro E. (2020): Comparison of physical, microstructural, antioxidant and enzymatic properties of pineapple cubes treated with conventional heating, ohmic heating and high pressure processing. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 134: 110207. Go to original source...
    24. Sain M., Minz P.S., John H., Singh A. (2024): Effect of ohmic heating on food products: An indepth review approach associated with quality attributes. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 2024: 2025937. Go to original source...
    25. Samaranayake C.P., Sastry S.K. (2016): Effects of controlled frequency moderate electric fields on pectin methylesterase and polygalacturonase activities in tomato homogenate. Food Chemistry, 199: 265-272. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    26. Samaranayake C.P., Sastry S.K. (2021): Molecular dynamics evidence for nonthermal effects of electric fields on pectin methylesterase activity. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 23: 14422-14432. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    27. Tanaka A., Hoshino E. (2003): Similarities between the thermal inactivation kinetics of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens αamylase in an aqueous solution of sodium dodecyl sulphate and the kinetics in the solution of anionic phospholipid vesicles. Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, 38: 175-181. Go to original source...
    28. Yeom H.W., Zhang Q.H., Chism G.W. (2002): Inactivation of pectin methyl esterase in orange juice by pulsed electric fields. Journal of Food Science, 67: 2154-2159. Go to original source...
    29. Yildiz H., Bozkurt H., Icier F. (2009): Ohmic and conventional heating of pomegranate juice: Effects on rheology, color, and total phenolics. Food Science and Technology International, 15: 503-512. Go to original source...
    30. Zhu X.H., Duan Z.H., Yang Y.X., Huang X.H., Xu C.L., Huang Z.Z. (2017): Development of passion fruit juice beverage. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 100: 012080. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0.), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content