SUMMARYThe effects of pH observed in the activity of a number of enzymes from different origins and the degradation of green colour in blanched vegetables, was modelled based on fundamental kinetic principles by considering hydrogen ions as an integral part of the reaction mechanism. Parameters were estimated by nonlinear regression analysis with explained parts (R 2 adj ) was in all cases except for the enzyme lipase, well over 95%, and frequently well over 98%. Applying fundamental models in integral data analysis made it possible to pinpoint aberrations at high and low pH ranges in the discoloration of vegetables, which r emained unnoticed using classical analysis procedures. The model on enzyme activity was successfully applied to analyse and to describe a double optimal pH region when iso-enzymes are present in the total pool of active enzymes.
INTRODUCTIONEnzymes play a major role in our daily food, during growth, during processing, during storage, and during eating. The far most important external factor in all processes, including enzymatic ones, is temperature. In certain circumstances, however, pH can also be a significant external factor determining the process kinetics and the process rates. Although the theory on pH behaviour in buffered and unbuffered solutions is, for more then a century, well established and well understood (see previous lecture), the effects of pH are still modelled in a very empirical fashion. Most of the time polynomials of second order or higher are used to model the effect of pH (Zwietering 1993, Wijtzes 1996. This paper describes a model, which was developed based on simple but very plausible and fundamental considerations and assumptions, for the combined effects of temperature and pH on enzyme activity. The model was calibrated by multiple non-linear regression based on data of phytase activity from seven different origins and on data of lipase and peroxidase activity from hazelnuts. The same fundamental approach was used to described the effects of pH on the degradation of green colour (extraction of Mg