Cuantificación de cobre en polifenoloxidasa de frutas tropicales por espectrofotometría de absorción atómica

Abstract

This work quantifies the copper content in avocado and pH in, plum, strawberry, kiwi, mamey sapote, mango, apple, pear and banana. Copper and browning rate on enzymes of those fruits were also determined. Copper content was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry on samples digested by wet-chemical method. Avocados had the highest content of copper on enzymes (0.059 mg) with the highest browning rate (0.751 s-1) while strawberries had the lowest copper content (0.016 mg) and the lowest browning rate (0.115 s-1). Fruits with acid pH had acceptable copper content on the enzyme and a low browning rate. Pears and bananas had similar pH and browning rate (0.3) with different copper contents. The results do not allow establishing a direct relationship between copper content in enzymes and its browning rate.