No catalyst needed

Abstract

β-Carotene, which is largely present in carrots, is an important micronutrient as a result of its health-related properties. Processing might have a double effect on β-carotene. On the one hand, processing might negatively affect β-carotene stability as a result of isomerization and degradation. On the other hand, processing might alter β-carotene bioaccessibility, i.e., the amount of β-carotene that can be released from the carrot matrix during digestion and is made accessible for absorption into mucosa.Whereas thermal processing mostly results in an increase in β-carotene bioaccessibility, high-pressure processing can not in most cases improve β-carotene bioaccessibility. For thermal processing, even when processing results in β-carotene loss by isomerization and/or degradation, the increase in β-carotene bioaccessibility is probably high enough to transcend this negative effect. It can be concluded that high-pressure processing does not have a clear advantage over thermal processing concerning the nutritional quality (in terms of carotenoids) of carrot products.