Effect of vacuum blending on antioxidant activities of apple juice and blueberry juice

The present study aimed to assess and compare the quality characteristics and antioxidant activities of apple juice and blueberry juice at hourly intervals over a period of time based on the presence or absence of vacuum blending (0 and 800 hPa) using a household blender. Measurement of the dissolved oxygen content revealed that the removal rates of dissolved oxygen were approximately 83% and 86% in the apple and blueberry juice samples, respectively, after vacuum blending. Moreover, compared with general blending, there was little change in the antioxidant property and degree of browning over time with vacuum blending. Furthermore, hourly assessments revealed that the decrease in the poly- phenol and flavonoid contents in the apple and blueberry juice samples was significantly lesser with vacuum blending for 3, 6, and 12 h than with general blending. Assessment of the change in ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) activity over time revealed that the rate of decrease in FRAP activity over time was lower with vacuum blending than with general blending for both juice samples. ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging assays performed to determine the change in free radical scavenging activity revealed inhibitory activity at 0, 3, 6, and 12 h and confirmed that vacuum blending resulted in long-lasting antioxidant activities in both apple and blueberry juice samples. Taken together, the present results confirmed that vacuum blending is associated with superior quality maintenance and antioxidant properties in comparison with general blending.