Why does fruits turn brown

Feedback Form Feedback Form. Was this article helpful to you? If you share this article, how many will you share it with? How will you share the article? Social Media. Program Handout. News Article. If you stated other, how do you plan to share it? Leave this field blank. This could be done by using heat and acids. You may have heard of melanin before. Melanin is the pigment that gives human hair, skin and eyes their colour.

Foods are made up of lots of different molecules including some called enzymes. Enzymes are special proteins which can speed up chemical reactions and act as biological catalysts. They can cause fruit to ripen and over-ripen, which gives the fruit a brown colour. Fresh fruit and vegetables normally keep enzymes trapped in their tissues.

However when the fruit is sliced, or squashed, or when the fruit or vegetable begins to break down with age, the enzymes come into contact with oxygen in the air. This causes the fruit to turn brown. Sign Up. Support science journalism. Knowledge awaits.

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