The influence of pulsed electric fields (PEF) and heating on the cell damage (plasmolysis) of sugarbeet tissue was studied. The PEF treatment was applied using bipolar pulses of near-rectangular shape in near-isothermal regime. The thermal treatment temperature interval was within T = 20-70 degrees C. The tissue damage degree was characterized by the electrical conductivity disintegration index Z. The Arrhenius form of the characteristic damage time - temperature dependences was observed both for the electrical and thermal processes. The corresponding activation energies W approximate to 149-166 kJ mol(-1) were responsible for the damage of cell membranes. The PEF treatment noticeably accelerates the diffusion process, which requires approximate to 1 h with mild heating at 40 degrees C. The results shown open new prospects for low heating processing in sugar industry. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.