Abstract:To evaluate the degradation mechanism of anthocyanins and carotenoids from compound fruit and vegetable juice rich in anthocyanins and carotenoids, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) and β-carotene was used as the research object. By constructing different simulated systems, the effects of metal ions, pH, sugar species and content on the C3G and β-carotene stability were studied. The results indicated that the thermal degradation of C3G and β-carotene fitted to the first-order reaction models, and the degradation of both components were nonspontaneous endothermic reactions. After C3G and β-carotene were compounded, the stability of anthocyanin did not change significantly while that of β-carotene decreased. In addition, the effects of different sugar types and contents on the thermal degradation of C3G and β-carotene in the simulated compound system were different. The stimulative effects of sugars on degradation of C3G were according to the ascending order: fructose > sucrose > glucose, and the stability of anthocyanins increased gradually with increment of sugar contents. However, the effects of these sugars on β-carotene were not significant, and the stability of β-carotene decreased gradually with increment of sugar contents. The results provided the theoretical basis for the research and development of compound fruit and vegetable juice rich in anthocyanins and carotenoids.