Effect of pulsed electric fields on proanthocyanidins in young red wine

The effects of pulsed electric fields (PEFs) applied on the proanthocyanidins in young red wine was investigated using two co-field treatment chambers connected in series for fluid flow and in parallel for electrical flow. Reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled with UV-visible detector was used to analyze the concentration of proanthocyanidins. The high voltage pulse generator in this experimental can generate monopolar or bipolar square wave pulses. The experimental results show that after PEF treatments, the contents of proanthocyanidins and its component units CAT, EC and ECG changed significantly and the trends were close to the evolution of wine that during natural aging. The contents of CAT and EC increased whereas ECG decreased as the applied electric field enhanced or treatment time lengthened.