Effects of laccase from Botrytis cinerea on the oxidative degradation of anthocyanins

This work aimed to study the degradation kinetics of five grape anthocyanins caused by laccase from Botrytis cinerea. In individual solutions, the anthocyanins with three substituents in the B-ring—petunidin, delphinidin and malvidin 3-O-glucosides—were degraded much faster than those with two substituents. In the latter case, cyanidin 3-O-glucoside did not degrade as quickly, and peonidin-3-O-glucoside, in particular, was not degraded by laccase at all. In contrast, when an equimolar solution of the five anthocyanins was used, the differences in the degradation kinetics of all anthocyanins were lessened, probably because the less reactive anthocyanins were able to polymerise with the quinones formed by the laccase action on the more reactive anthocyanins. Finally, supplementation with (-)-epicatechin, glutathione and especially seed tannins seemed to protect the red colour from laccase.