*Article* **Thermal Inactivation Kinetics of Kudzu (***Pueraria lobata***) Polyphenol Oxidase and the Influence of Food Constituents**

**Junping Liu 1, Jiayan Zhang 1, Tao Liao 1, Lei Zhou 1, Liqiang Zou 1, Yafei Liu 1, Li Zhang <sup>2</sup> and Wei Liu 1,3,\***


**Abstract:** The thermal inactivation kinetics of kudzu (*Pueraria lobata*) polyphenol oxidase (PPO) were investigated in model and food systems. PPO in kudzu tissue (tPPO) showed a higher thermostability than that of PPO in crude extract (cPPO) and purification fractions (pPPO). The PPO inactivation rate constant (*k*) increased with an increase in temperature, and tPPO showed the lowest *k* value, followed by that of cPPO and pPPO at the same temperature, indicating that PPO in the food system was more resistant to thermal treatment. Food constituents (pectin, starch, sucrose, and bovine serum albumin) in the food system decreased the activity of PPO but increased the thermostability of PPO, among which pectin exhibited the strongest protective effect against thermal inactivation, and the influence of sucrose was much slighter than that of other macromolecules. Fluorescence emission spectra indicated that pPPO exhibited stronger interactions with pectin than sucrose, and pPPO with pectin showed a more stable conformation under thermal treatment.

**Keywords:** polyphenol oxidase; kudzu; thermostability; thermal inactivation kinetics; food constituents; conformation
