Reduction of browning phenomena of minimally processed artichoke hearts

Browning reactions are some of the most important phenomena occurring in food during processing and storage and represent an interesting research area for the implications in food stability and technology, as well as in nutrition and health. They can involve different compounds and proceed through different chemical pathways. In the present paper, data of color changes in globe artichoke are discussed in relation to the different postharvest manipulations and the treatments to avoid the darkening phenomena during processing. It is known that phenolics, polyphenol oxidase (PPO), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and iron play important roles in blackening reactions of globe artichoke tissues. The first studies were based on whole capitulum, and authors agreed that the genetic influence on browning kinetics of globe artichoke head tissues is the first step to indicate and/or to select genotypes less susceptible to cold storage and so for processing. It is plausible to affirm that the early genotypes are more suitable to the industrial transformation, than the late ones. Nowadays, minimal processing could, therefore, ease its consumption on a wider scale, but may also result in a more perishable product. With the aim to improve the current knowledge on the qualitative maintenance of minimally processed globe artichoke heads, different teams are studying the effect of genotypes, the use of antibrowning molecules, of different packaging and coating to develop protocols for industrial processing. Even if good results are already obtained by different research teams, further research may be aimed at evaluating the effect of additional technologies on delaying the browning process on industrial scale.