Long-Term Effect on Bioactive Components and Antioxidant Activity of Thermal and High-Pressure Pasteurization of Orange Juice.

Fabiana Vieira,Eliana Jerónimo,Sónia Lourenço,Liliana Fidalgo,Armando Silvestre,Sónia Santos,Jorge Saraiva

doi:10.3390/molecules23102706

Abstract

The long-term effect of thermal pasteurization (TP) and high-pressure processing (HPP) of orange juices stored under refrigeration, on the bioactive components and antioxidant activity, was compared. Total phenolic content (TPC), flavonoid, anthocyanin, and carotenoid contents, the individual content of major phenolic components, and the antioxidant activity, were evaluated in TP- and HPP-treated juices over a 36-day period. At day 0, no significant differences in TPC, and a decrease in carotenoid content after both treatments, were observed. TP caused a decrease of flavonoid and anthocyanin contents, while HPP increased flavonoid content. Three major phenolic components were identified: apigenin-6,8-di-C-glucoside, naringenin-7-O-rutinoside, and hesperetin-7-O-rutinoside, the latter increasing ca. 45% immediately after HPP. During storage, a decrease in TPC, and in the anthocyanin and carotenoid contents of both treated juices was observed, with higher anthocyanin and phenolic contents in HPP juices. A significant increase of hesperetin-7-O-rutinoside content was observed in HPP juice. Both treatments caused a decrease (26% and 13%, respectively) of antioxidant activity. Most of the kinetic profiles followed zero-order patterns, with HPP juices showing a considerably higher half-life than TP ones. These results clearly demonstrate the advantages of HPP for orange juice preservation allowing, also, their nutritional benefits to be enhanced by increasing the content of some bioactive components.

Highlights

In recent decades, the impact of human diet and the composition of food ingredients on human health has been the focus of increasing attention [1,2]
The obtained Total phenolic content (TPC) values are in the same range of those reported in the literature for orange juice [21,24]
This study aimed to evaluate the effect on bioactive components composition and antioxidant activity, of the storage of thermal pasteurized (TP) and high-pressure processed (HPP) orange juices

Summary

Introduction

The impact of human diet and the composition of food ingredients on human health has been the focus of increasing attention [1,2]. It is known that food nutritional value is highly dependent on its processing and, the demand for processed foods where health-promoting components are preserved, or containing added ingredients with a specific body function, named functional foods [3], has led to the development of new minimal-processing technologies that allow a better preservation of these components [3,4,5] Heat treatments, such as pasteurization and sterilization, are the most used methods to process and preserve food, mainly due to their ability to inactivate a wide range of microorganisms and Molecules 2018, 23, 2706; doi:10.3390/molecules23102706 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules. HPP has shown to be effective reducing microbial populations and preserving sensory qualities, without affecting the structure of small molecules, such as some bioactive compounds [9,12] This technique uses pressure, up to 600 MPa, to inactivate some harmful and pathogenic microorganisms and enzymes responsible for the quality loss of food products, including several fruit juices [13]

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