Blanching applied in enzymatic inactivation and its influence on browning, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant activity of trapiá (Crataeva tapia L.) pulp

The trapiá, although it is a species present in almost the entire Brazilian territory, has limited consumption due to the absence of commercial plantations and general unawareness of its properties, aggravated by the difficulty of processing due to rapid enzymatic browning that affects the pulp when handled. In this study, the influence of enzymatic inactivation through thermal blanching on the changes in luminosity, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant activity of trapiá pulp was evaluated. Blanching showed optimal effects when the thermal process was applied for a duration of 15 min, as confirmed by the qualitative determination of peroxidase (POD), indicating the interruption of enzymatic activity. The study of instrumental luminosity kinetics (color parameter) of the sample without thermal blanching treatment (control) and with blanching indicated a degradation process over time governed by a first-order model. The thermal process influenced the levels of bioactive compounds, resulting in increased flavonoids, anthocyanins, and β-carotene. Blanching also led to an increase in antioxidant activity measured by ABTS and DPPH methods, with a significant increase in DPPH radical scavenging activity, reaching 96% higher than the unblanched pulp.