Catechin oxidation by peach polyphenol oxidase was performed in a pH range of 3.5-8.0. At acidic pH, maximal spectral changes were observed at 390 nm and at pH 7.5, at 430 nm. Catechin oxidation was studied at pH 7.5 to avoid the formation of free radicals. The results obtained allowed us to propose a pathway for the enzymatic oxidation of catechin, according to which enzymatic oxidation produces the corresponding catechin-o-quinone, which suffers the nucleophilic attack of another catechin unit, leading to the formation of a dimer. This dimer is then oxidized by the enzymatically generated o-quinone. The progress curves obtained for catechin oxidation by PPO showed a lag period, whose length changed with enzyme and substrate concentrations, and which must have been caused by the chemical reactions taking place after the enzymatic reaction. The results obtained by simulation of the model produced the same qualitative dependences as obtained experimentally. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.