Cell membrane permeabilization by pulsed electric field treatment impacts biochemical conversions and the volatile profile of broccoli stalks

In this study, pulsed electric fields (PEF) treatments at low field strengths were applied to broccoli stalks. The effect of varying electric field strength and total specific energy input was investigated on membrane integrity by conductivity measurements and on the volatile profile analyzed via HS-SPME-GC-MS. This work showed that PEF at low field strengths can induce membrane disintegration in broccoli stalks. A substantial effect of implementing different total specific energy inputs between 2.19 and 41.10 kJ/kg at a fixed low electrical field strength on the resulting cell membrane disintegration and volatile profiles of incubated broccoli stalks was observed. Contrarily, varying the electrical field strength above 1.01 kV/cm at 2.50 and 8.00 kJ/kg did result in comparable membrane disintegration and volatile profiles of incubated broccoli stalks. The results implied that the specific energy input has a more prominent effect to steer the volatile profile of broccoli stalks compared to the field strength under the conditions tested.