Application Of Pulsed Electric Fields Research Articles

Pulsed electric fields-assisted extraction of valuable compounds from red grape pomace: Process optimization using response surface methodology.

The application of Pulsed electric fields as a mild and easily scalable electrotechnology represents an effective approach to selectively intensify the extractability of bioactive compounds from grape pomace, one of the most abundant residues generated during the winemaking process. This study addressed the optimization of the pulsed electric fields (PEF)-assisted extraction to enhance the extraction yields of bioactive compounds from red grape pomace using response surface methodology (RSM). The cell disintegration index (Z p ) was identified as response variable to determine the optimal PEF processing conditions in terms of field strength (E = 0.5-5 kV/cm) and energy input (WT = 1-20 kJ/kg). For the solid-liquid extraction (SLE) process the effects of temperature (20-50°C), time (30-300min), and solvent concentration (0-50% ethanol in water) on total phenolic content (TPC), flavonoid content (FC), total anthocyanin content (TAC), tannin content (TC), and antioxidant activity (FRAP) of the extracts from untreated and PEF-treated plant tissues were assessed. The phenolic composition of the obtained extracts was determined via HPLC-PDA. Results demonstrated that the application of PEF at the optimal processing conditions (E = 4.6 kV/cm, WT = 20 kJ/kg) significantly enhanced the permeabilization degree of cell membrane of grape pomace tissues, thus intensifying the subsequent extractability of TPC (15%), FC (60%), TAC (23%), TC (42%), and FRAP values (31%) concerning the control extraction. HPLC-PDA analyses showed that, regardless of the application of PEF, the most abundant phenolic compounds were epicatechin, p-coumaric acid, and peonidin 3-O-glucoside, and no degradation of the specific compounds occurred upon PEF application. The optimization of the PEF-assisted extraction process allowed to significantly enhance the extraction yields of high-value-added compounds from red grape pomace, supporting further investigations of this process at a larger scale.

Biochemiluminescence sensing of protein oxidation by reactive oxygen species generated by pulsed electric field

Pulsed electric field (PEF) technology is an important emerging modality for both biomedicine and the food industry, yet the mechanisms of action of a PEF on a biomolecular level remain unclear. In order to gain a better understanding of this, a sensing platform was developed to enable sensitive detection of oxidative processes induced by the PEF. It was found that the application of PEF in phosphate buffer leads to the electrogeneration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which in turn triggers intrinsic chemiluminescence. Furthermore, the presence of the bovine serum albumin (BSA) was found to increase the luminescence signal, which was attributed to biochemiluminescence due to the reactions of BSA with the electrogenerated ROS. A carbonyl determination assay was then used to confirm that the BSA molecules had indeed been oxidatively modified. We proposed a scheme describing the reactions leading from charge transfer at the anode/electrolyte interface to the actual photon emission, helping to elucidate the mechanisms of action of PEF on proteins. The results may to open up new avenues for the application of PEF technology.

Optimization and Intensification of Bioactive Components and Antioxidant Activity of Extracts from Date Fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Using Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) Technology and Thermal Processing

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment on the extraction of polyphenolics and antioxidant activity from downgraded date palm fruits. The PEF pretreatments (frequency: 30 Hz, time: 50 μs, pulse number: 240, the electric field strengths were found to be 1, 2, and 2.5 kV.cm−1, and methanol (50%) and temperatures (20, 40, 50 °C)) were optimized and applied before extraction to produce an extract of date fruits with a high content of bioactive compounds. The extracts obtained immediately after pretreatments were analyzed for total polyphenolic content, antioxidant activity, and phenolic profiles. The results revealed that the PEF-assisted extracts at 2.5 kV.cm−1 at T50 °C exhibited higher polyphenol content (+27%) and antioxidant activity (+31%) and notably improved phenolic profiles compared to untreated extracts. PEF treatment processing significantly enhanced the bioactive components and antioxidant activities of date fruits over time, regardless of the treatment applied and the extraction’s temperature. Hence, the application of PEF combined with thermal processing can be an appropriate alternative treatment for a better extractability of bioactive compounds from fruit of dates and food byproducts. These biomolecules could be consumed as new food technology, incorporated as food additives, and nutraceuticals products.

Accelerated brining kinetics and NaCl distribution of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis) using pulsed electric field

Brining is a representative processing method for the long-term preservation of food materials. We analyzed the effects of pulsed electric fields (PEF) at various strengths and brining solutions with two different NaCl concentrations (10 g/mL and 15 g/mL) at 25 °C for 12 h on Chinese cabbage. PEF had significant effects on mass transfer kinetics; k1 and k2 values were highest for PEF at 2.5 kV/cm, regardless of the brining solution concentration. Additionally, salinity and solid gain were highest for PEF at 2.5 kV/cm and gradually increased, depending on the strength of PEF. The hardness and cutting force were influenced by the PEF strength and NaCl concentration of the brining solution. The microstructure differed significantly between the PEF-pretreated and untreated samples. These results demonstrate that PEF can effectively reduce the brining time and NaCl concentration during brining process and may guide further research aimed at the practical application of PEF on food processing.

Experimental and simulation-based investigation of the interplay between factor gradients following pulsed electric field treatments triggering whey protein aggregation

Novel pulsed electric field (PEF) applications to modify the techno-functionality of biomacromolecules have recently emerged. Insights into the involved interplay of factor domains (electrical, flow, concentration, temperature) with respect to the treatment chamber locations, and into the scalability are lacking. Therefore, a parallel plate batch (0.8 mL) and a scaled up parallel plate continuous (50 mL, 0.83 mL s −1 ) setup were built and simulated to investigate these domains and resulting gradient interactions using liquid whey protein solutions (0.5% w/w). In both setups, protein agglomerations and aggregations were observed below 60 °C at the electrode boundary layers for pulses in the range of 2–2.5 kV cm −1 , 10 μs, 40–350 Hz. The boundary layer is characterized by higher protein concentrations due to temperature- and pH-dependent migration trajectories, increased electrochemical reactivity (e.g., pH), and increased residence times due to the laminar flow or no flow conditions. Characterizing the domain interconnectivity led to effective scaling-up approaches of protein aggregations and insights into involved mechanisms. • Pulsed electric fields trigger whey protein migration and aggregations below 60 °C. • Identified regimes might provide a new process window to alter techno-functionalities. • Migration direction and aggregation location are pH-dependent. • Translation of observations from a batch to a scaled up continuous system. • Reactive boundary layer is characterized by overlaying factor domains and gradients.

Applications of pulsed electric fields in winemaking

Wineries can take advantage of the ability of pulsed electric fields (PEF) to electroporate the cell membranes of grape skins and microbial cells to improve several kind of processes. The PEF permeabilization of red grape skin cells permits winemakers to reduce the duration of maceration and/or to improve a wine’s color and concentration of polyphenolic compounds without impairing its sensorial attributes. The capability of PEF to inactivate spoilage microorganisms while preserving the physicochemical and sensorial properties of must and wines may help enhance wine quality by guaranteeing reproducible fermentations and reducing or replacing the use of SO2 for wine stabilization. It has been also demonstrated that PEF triggers yeast autolysis thereby accelerating the release of mannoproteins from cell walls and decreasing the duration of aging on lees.

Modification of carrot electric properties by moderate electric pulses

The impedance of carrot (variety Jereda) was analyzed just after the application of a moderate Pulse Electric Field, PEF (one, two, or three pulses of alternative sinusoidal signal with a frequency of 20 kHz). The parameters of a single model - consisting of a resistor and a capacitor in parallel connection were calculated using the measured impedance. During pulse application both the resistance and the capacitance significantly decreased and after the pulse, the capacitance permanently increased to values that were higher than the values determined before the pulse application. The resistance, a few seconds after the pulse, also increased in a period that will be referred, in this paper, as ‘restoration’ as a result of probably restored cellular membranes that were damaged during the previous pulse. The restoration of the resistance can be expressed by at least two exponentials with parameters that sensitively depend either on the pulse level (300–800 V/cm) or on the possible pulse repetition. A few seconds after a pulse, a new period starts, which will be referred here as ‘de-restoration’; it is the period in which the resistance decreases substantially, and the capacitance still increases. • Carrot after-pulse goes through restoration (resistance increase) and de-restoration (resistance decrease) processes. • The after-pulse resistance decrease was observed after pulses with maximum pulse intensity higher than ∼250 V/cm. • Time border between restoration and de-restoration was estimated at few seconds. • The resistance increase in restoration can be approximated by two exponentials.

Improvement of the probiotic growth-stimulating capacity of microalgae extracts by pulsed electric fields treatment

This study aimed to investigate the nutritional character (carbohydrates, proteins, pigments, and phycocyanin), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and the capability of simulating the growth of Lactobacillus rhamnosus of different extracts from C. vulgaris and A. platensis by means of the application of conventional aqueous extraction procedure and pulsed electric field (PEF) extraction technology. It was confirmed a significantly improved nutritional profile of Chlorella and Spirulina extracts obtained by PEF technology pre-treatment (3 kV/cm, 100 kJ/kg), with specifically higher values in total carbohydrate, Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b, and carotenoids content, and TAC. Additionally, Spirulina PEF extract showed a probiotic's growth-stimulating capability of 1 log10 cycle when fermented by Lactobacillus rhamnosus, with a metabolomic profile specifically rich in bioactive short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and organic acids (3-phenyl lactic acid). The present study points out the applicability of PEF extraction technology under optimized conditions to improve the nutritional and functional character of microalgae and cyanobacterial-derived ingredients.

Fluorescence microscopic approach for detection of two different modes of breast cancer cell death induced by nanosecond pulsed electric field

Application of nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) to living systems is a fast-growing research area with great potential for cancer treatment. Here, we have demonstrated a cellular-level approach applying nsPEF having a pulse width of 50 ns and a frequency of 2 kHz to induce the change in intracellular function and dynamics for two subtypes of breast cancerous cells, that is, estrogen and progesterone-positive (ER+ and PR+) and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) negative MCF-7 cells and highly aggressive drug resistance triple-negative MDA-MB-231 cells. Microscopic monitoring of the field effects in real-time or before and after the application of nsPEF indicated that nsPEF induced different field effects on intracellular function and dynamics in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells and activated two different modes of cell death, that is, apoptosis in MCF-7 cells and necrosis (or necroptosis) in MDA-MB-231 cells. These two different modes of nsPEF-induced cell death were confirmed based on the following microscopic measurements: 1) autofluorescence intensity and lifetime imaging of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH); 2) production of reactive oxygen species (ROS); 3) change in mitochondrial membrane potential; 4) morphological alternation of cells; 5) imaging of phosphatidyl serine (PS) externalization by Annexin V; 6) cell viability. The present finding of nanosecond pulsed electric field-induced apoptosis and necrosis (or necroptosis) in subtypes of breast cancerous cells provides valuable information that the mechanism of field-induced cell death depends on the subtype of cancerous cells. It will be helpful for further development and optimization of field-induced cancer therapy.

Preparation of yeast flakes enriched with iron and vitamin B12 using a pulsed electric field technology

AbstractIn this study pulsed electric field (PEF) was used to increase accumulation of iron and vitamin B12 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, which were then used to produce flakes. The yeast was enriched in two ways: only by adding iron salt (FeCl3·6H2O) and vitamin B12 to the culture medium and by additional application of PEF. Three trials of yeast flakes were prepared: C1 (control, not supplemented), C2—with B12 and iron salt and not treated with PEF, and P—with B12 and iron salt and treated with PEF (for 20 min at 10 μs pulse width, voltage of 1500 V, a number of pulses 1200 and field frequency 1 Hz). The use of PEF resulted in higher iron and vitamin B12 accumulation, respectively, 2.5‐ and 1.4‐fold for the sample P compared to the sample C2. The potential bioavailability of iron from yeast flakes was 10.13% and vitamin B12–4.31%, and the quality of this product was rated good by a sensory panel.

Effect of pulsed electric field pre-treatment on the debittering process of cherry kernels

Cherry kernels occur in significant amounts as waste material during the processing of fruits. However, their subsequent use is limited due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides, which are potentially dangerous to human health. In this study, the application of pulsed electric fields (PEF) was investigated as pre-treatment to improve the debittering process and to facilitate the degradation of cyanide precursors, naturally present in cherry kernels. Diverse PEF treatments were carried out at constant electric field strength of E = 2.2 kV/cm and specific energy input was varied between 10 and 50 kJ/kg, varying the number of pulses. Two different debittering procedures were performed with a common incubation time 0–20 h at 40 °C: a) incubation of whole kernels in deionized water; b) incubation of whole kernels without water stored in air at 80% relative humidity. HPLC analysis was used to examine the kinetics of the amygdalin and HCN contents. In both debittering methods, the PEF-treated samples with the highest intensity (2.2 kV/cm, 50 kJ/kg) showed higher and faster detoxification efficiency for the investigated compounds as compared to the untreated sample. In particular, the PEF treated samples incubated with water showed a reduction in the amygdalin and HCN contents of up to 86% (up to 72% of the raw material content.). Moreover, the PEF pre-treatment led to comparable efficiency in amygdalin reduction in both debittering processes: 86% reduction for the incubation with water and 81% for the incubation without water. Consequently, the combined application of PEF and the debittering process including incubation without water has remarkable potential as an industrial application due to its inherent reduced water consumption, and therefore, diminished wastewater management issues. A further advantage of this process is the minimizing of sugar loss typically occurring during the debittering through soaking.

Synergistic In Vitro Anticancer Toxicity of Pulsed Electric Fields and Glutathione

Despite continuous advancement in skin cancer therapy, the disease is still fatal in many patients, demonstrating the need to improve existing therapies, such as electrochemotherapy (ECT). ECT can be applied in the palliative or curative setting and is based on the application of pulsed electric fields (PEF), which by themselves exerts none to low cancer toxicity but become potently toxic when combined with low-dosed chemotherapeutics such as bleomycin and cisplatin. Albeit their favorable side-effect profiles, not all patients respond to standard ECT, and some responders experience tumor recurrence. To identify potential adjuvant or alternative agents to standard electrochemotherapy, we explored the possibility of combining PEF with a physiological compound, glutathione (GSH), to amplify anticancer toxicity. GSH is an endogenous antioxidant and is available as a dietary supplement. Surprisingly, neither GSH nor PEF mono treatment but GSH + PEF combination treatment exerted strong cytotoxic effects and declined metabolic activity in four skin cancer cell lines in vitro. The potential applicability to other tumor cells was verified by corroborating results in two leukemia cell lines. Strikingly, GSH + PEF treatment did not immediately increase intracellular GSH levels, while levels 24 h following treatment were enhanced. Similar tendencies were made for intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, while extracellular ROS increased following combination treatment. ROS levels and the degree of cytotoxicity could be partially reversed by pre-incubating cells with the NADPH-oxidase (NOX) inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) and the H2O2-degrading enzyme catalase. Collectively, our findings suggest a promising new "endogenous" drug to be combined with PEF for future anticancer research approaches.

Changes in Starch In Vitro Digestibility and Properties of Cassava Flour Due to Pulsed Electric Field Processing.

The research aimed to investigate the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment on cassava flour at mild intensities (1, 2, and 4 kV/cm) combined with elevated levels of specific energy input (250-500 kJ/kg). Influences on starch digestibility, morphological characteristics, birefringence, short-range order and thermal properties were evaluated. Application of PEF at energy input no greater than 250 kJ/kg had negligible influence on the different starch digestion fractions of cassava flour but raised the rapidly digestible starch fraction at a combined electric field strength >1 kV/cm and energy input >350 kJ/kg. Morphological evaluation revealed that at this PEF combination, cassava starch's external structure was consistently altered with swelling and disintegration, albeit some granules remained intact. Consequently, this led to disruption in the internal crystalline structure, supported by progressive loss of birefringence and significantly lower absorbance ratio at 1047/1022 cm-1. These physical and microstructural changes of the inherent starch promoted the shift in gelatinization temperatures to a higher temperature and reduced the gelatinization enthalpy. The study demonstrated that PEF can be utilized to change the starch fraction of cassava flour, which is driven by electric field strength and specific energy input, causing changes in the starch-related properties leading to increased digestibility.

PEF treatment effect on plant tissues of heterogeneous structure no longer an enigma: MRI insights beyond the naked eye

Alteration of cell membrane permeability by exposure of plant tissues to pulsed electric fields (PEF) is associated with physical changes in cellular and subcellular structures. The aim of our study was to investigate the possible non-uniform effect of PEF treatment due to the structural heterogeneity of plant tissues commonly used in industrial PEF applications: apple fruits, potato tubers, and carrot taproots. Spatial distribution of T2 relaxation times was measured using magnetic resonance imaging in relation to local electric field established during PEF treatment and measured by magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography. The results showed an increasingly inhomogeneous distribution of T2 relaxation times with increasing complexity of the structure (carrot > potato > apple). Feasibility and considerable potential for the use of the T2 mapping technique in the analysis of the effects of PEF on plant tissue structures was demonstrated.

Potential applications of pulsed electric field in the fermented wine industry.

Fermented wine refers to alcoholic beverages with complex flavor substances directly produced by raw materials (fruit or rice) through microbial fermentation (yeast and bacteria). Its production steps usually include saccharification, fermentation, filtration, sterilization, aging, etc., which is a complicated and time-consuming process. Pulsed electric field (PEF) is a promising non-thermal food processing technology. Researchers have made tremendous progress in the potential application of PEF in the fermented wine industry over the past few years. The objective of this paper is to systematically review the achievements of PEF technology applied to the winemaking and aging process of fermented wine. Research on the application of PEF in fermented wine suggests that PEF treatment has the following advantages: (1) shortening the maceration time of brewing materials; (2) promoting the extraction of main functional components; (3) enhancing the color of fermented wine; (4) inactivating spoilage microorganisms; and (5) accelerating the formation of aroma substances. These are mainly related to PEF-induced electroporation of biomembranes, changes in molecular structure and the occurrence of chemical reactions. In addition, the key points of PEF treatments for fermented wine are discussed and some negative impacts and research directions are proposed.

Experimental and Simulation Studies of the Effects of Nanosecond Pulse Frequency on the Dielectric Motion of BNNSs

Application of nanosecond pulsed electric fields to insulating nanoparticles can be used to prepare oriented high-performance composites, but the mechanism and related laws are still unclear. Therefore, in this article, highly insulating boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS) nanoparticles are selected, their alignment motions under different nanosecond intraburst frequencies (100 Hz–1 MHz) are studied for the first time in both experiments and simulations, and the two sets of results are compared and analyzed. The results show that the simulation results based on COMSOL are in good agreement with the experimental results, the variations in the local orientation angle with time and the local orientation time with intraburst frequency can be expressed by an allometric function, and the variation in the center-to-center distance with time can be described by an exponential decay function. Further experiments show that with the continuous application of the pulsed electric field, short chains of BNNSs continue to move to form longer chains, and long chains of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$342~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> form under the external application of the pulsed electric field for 3 min. The good agreement between experiments and simulations verifies the strong reliability of the proposed theory and the established mathematical model for predicting the orientation alignment motion of BNNS particles. The theory and simulation method can be used as effective tools to predict the trajectories of nanoparticles under a nanosecond pulsed electric field and their final alignment into chains.

Non-Thermal Processing of a Protein Functional Beverage Using Pulsed Electric Fields: Escherichia coli Inactivation and Effect on Proteins

The application of pulsed electric fields (PEFs) for the inactivation of Escherichia coli, suspended in a protein shake beverage and diluted with sterilized distilled water was carried out. Square bipolar pulses in the range of 25–40 kV/cm electric field intensities were applied at different frequencies (400–900 Hz) to investigate the effect of different PEF conditions on the microbial population and proteins relevant to this functional beverage. The treatment temperature was kept below the lethal temperature of the microorganism under investigation. As power consumption plays an important role in the efficiency of the PEF application, the dissipated power was also estimated. Four log reductions in the E. coli population were obtained with 10 pulses at a 40 kV/cm field intensity and 25 pulses at a 25 kV/cm field intensity. PEF-treated whey-protein concentrates showed less denaturation in proteins than thermally treated concentrates, especially for lower electric field intensities (0% denaturation ± 0.007 at 25 kV/cm and 900 Hz, 4.41% denaturation ± 0.008 at 40 kV/cm and 400 Hz). Soy protein isolates manifested high sensitivity to PEF processing and resulted in denaturation and aggregation in the protein structure.

Combined effect of pulsed electric field and osmotic dehydration pretreatments on mass transfer and quality of air-dried pumpkin.

Pulsed electric field (PEF) and osmotic dehydration (OD) pretreatment can accelerate the time-consuming drying process and minimize its high energy demands. The effect of PEF and OD pre-processing conditions and osmotic solution composition on mass transfer kinetics (water loss, solid gain, water activity) and quality properties (color, texture, total sensory quality) during OD and subsequent air-drying (AD) of pumpkin was studied. Application of PEF (2.0kV/cm-1500 pulses) significantly enhanced mass transfer during subsequent air-drying (increased effective diffusivity coefficient Des and drying rate kdrying , respectively). PEF and OD treatments led to a significant reduction of the processing time by 12 and 10%, respectively (p<0.05). The maximum reduction of processing time by 27% (p<0.05) (compared to untreated sample) resulted in combined use of PEF and OD as pretreatments prior to AD. When PEF pretreatment was combined with OD prior to AD, the corresponding energy was by 50% less than the respective energy required for nonprocessed samples. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Pulsed electric fields (PEF) and osmotic dehydration (OD) can be applied for the production of air-dried pumpkin cuts of superior quality (in terms of quality and sensory characteristics) and reduced energy requirements (as a result of total processing time decrease).

Understanding the Mechanism of How Pulsed Electric Fields Treatment Affects the Digestibility and Characteristics of Starch in Oat Flour

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on the in vitro starch digestibility properties of oat flour. A wide range of PEF process intensity was investigated (electric field strength between 2.1 and 4.5 kV/cm and specific energy inputs between 52 and 438 kJ/kg using 20 μs square wave bipolar pulse at 100 Hz). The results revealed that PEF applied at a high electric field strength and energy &lt;216 kJ/kg was favourable in slowing down the rate of starch digestibility (by 48%) during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. This is accompanied by a significant decrease (from 15% to 7–10%) in the proportion of rapidly digestible starch (RDS) and a significant increase (from 77% to 84–85%) in resistant starch (RS) fraction. The application of PEF at energy level &gt;421 kJ/kg at any field strength intensities raised the RDS (from 15% to 19–20%), but the rate of starch digestion was not affected (maintained at 3.3–3.7 × 10−2 min−1 vs. untreated at 3.8 × 10−2 min−1). Further analysis of the structure, particle size, and thermal stability of PEF-treated oat flour through fractionation into three distinct flour segments revealed that PEF could cause major modifications in the particle size, damage and aggregation of starch granules, and destruction of the long- and short-range ordered structures of starch. Data gathered in this study indicate that PEF treatment can be a reliable strategy to modulate the in vitro starch digestibility of oat flour, either by reasonably slowing down the digestion rate or enabling a slightly higher amount of starch to be readily accessible by digestive enzymes without affecting the digestion rate.

Investigation on the Effects of a Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Continuous System Implemented in an Industrial Olive Oil Plant.

The aim of this study was to investigate how the treatment of olive paste of the Picholine variety with pulsed electric fields (PEF) under real operating conditions in a large-scale olive oil extraction plant affects the extractability, chemical composition and sensory profile of the oils. The application of pulsed electric fields (PEF) as a non-thermal food processing technology is interesting for many food extraction processes. The results of this study show that pulsed electric fields can be used as a pretreatment before oil separation to increase the extractability of the process and improve the content of functional components. The application of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment (2.4 kV/cm, 4 kJ/kg, 6 µs pulse width) to olive paste through a continuous system significantly increased the extractability and total concentration of phenols (especially oleuropein derivatives) compared to the control. In addition, the volatile compounds, α-tocopherol, the fatty acid profile and the main legal quality parameters of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), including free acidity, peroxide values, extinction indices and sensory analysis, were evaluated. The pulsed electric fields (PEF) treatment did not modify these EVOO quality parameters, neither the α-tocopherol content nor the volatile profile. The sensory properties of EVOO were not affected as well as the PEF treatment showed a similar intensity of fruity and pungent attributes without any off-flavor according to the European Union legal standards. An increase in the bitter taste attribute was observed in the PEF oils. Consequently, this study demonstrates that pulsed electric fields (PEF) processing could be implemented in olive oil processing as pretreatment for improving the efficiency of the process.