ACC OXIDASE IN PAPAYA SECTIONS AFTER HEAT-TREATMENT

The effect of heat treatment on 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC ) oxidase in excised sections of papaya (Carica papaya L). 'Kapoho' fr uit immersed in hot water baths was analyzed as kinetics of a set of c onsecutive reactions. Treatments were at 23, 28, 33, and 38 degrees C which would be encountered during initial treatments of whole fruits d uring heating to fruit-center temperatures of 47 degrees C and above. The response of ACC oxidase was considered as two consecutive reaction s, one for production and one for degradation. Activation energies wer e compared to those reported at 43 degrees C to 51 degrees C. The impl ications of the analyses were confirmed by results for a whole-fruit h ot-water dip.