Dimethyl dicarbonate and high pressure for preserving mulberry juice
What it found
Adding dimethyl dicarbonate at 250 mg/L to mulberry juice killed off natural germs in lab tests.
Combining it with high pressure kept germs low during cold storage as well as heat treatment did.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Killing germs in juice
In lab tests on mulberry juice, adding dimethyl dicarbonate at 250 mg/L or using repeated high pressure passes at 200 MPa greatly reduced natural germs. Some surviving germs grew back when the juice was stored at 4 °C.
Combined treatment held up
Using three high pressure passes plus 250 mg/L of dimethyl dicarbonate lowered germ counts to match heating at 95 °C for 1 min. In lab tests, germ numbers stayed low during cold storage at 4 °C.
Colour and acidity unchanged
In lab tests, the combined treatment did not change the juice's acidity, sugar content, or colour values compared to heat treatment.
Nutrient trade-offs
Compared to heating, the combined method kept more total phenolics and enzyme-blocking activity in lab tests. But it led to greater losses of two specific plant pigments and overall antioxidant capacity.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that combining high pressure with dimethyl dicarbonate is a useful alternative to standard heat pasteurization for mulberry juice.
- Their results show this approach can kill and hold back natural germs while keeping certain nutrients better than heat.
How it was done
The authors wanted to find a way to preserve mulberry juice without using traditional heat pasteurization, which can damage nutrients.
They tested mulberry juice treated with high pressure passes at 200 MPa, dimethyl dicarbonate at 250 mg/L, or both together. They compared these to juice heated at 95 °C for 1 min. They then stored the samples at 4 °C and measured germ counts, colour, acidity, sugar levels, and nutrient retention.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These tests were done on mulberry juice in a lab setting. They cannot show how dimethyl dicarbonate behaves in other drinks or inside the human body.
- This work looked at food preservation rather than health effects in people or animals.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Inst. Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, China
The paper
- Title
- Effect of High Pressure Homogenization and Dimethyl Dicarbonate (DMDC) on Microbial and Physicochemical Qualities of Mulberry Juice
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Yu Y, Wu J, Xu Y, Xiao G, Zou B (2016). Effect of High Pressure Homogenization and Dimethyl Dicarbonate (DMDC) on Microbial and Physicochemical Qualities of Mulberry Juice. Journal of food science. doi:10.1111/1750-3841.13213PubMed 26764561DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error