Pulsed Electric Field Conditions Research Articles

Effect of pulsed electric fields pretreatment on juice expression and quality of chicory

This study investigates the effects of pulsed electric fields (PEF) and freeze thawing (FT) pretreatments on juice yield and quality from chicory by pressing (P). The four different modes (P, PEF-P, FT-P and P-PEF-P) were compared. The effects of pressing mode, PEF conditions, cossettes size on the juice yield, and total soluble matter (°Bx), conductivity, pH, turbidity in expressed juices were evaluated. The pressing kinetics for different modes were also investigated. For studied modes, the highest juice yield and kinetic rate were obtained for FT-P mode, the lowest was P mode. PEF-P and P-PEF-P modes resulted in the same juice yield, an increase of 9% higher than P mode. A 600 V/cm of intensity and 0.2 s duration were optimal PEF conditions with desired energy consumption. Moreover, cake mixing and relative small-sized cossettes allowed improving juice yield assisted by PEF-P mode. Quality analysis showed that expressed juice from smaller cossettes by PEF-P mode has lower turbidity and higher inulin content.

Pulsed electric fields‐ and ultrasound‐assisted green extraction of valuable compounds from Origanum vulgare L. and Thymus serpyllum L.

SummaryThis work compared the effects of pulsed electric fields (PEF) and ultrasound (US) technologies on the extent of cell disintegration of two Mediterranean herb tissues (Origanum vulgare L., Thymus serpyllum L.), as well as on the extractability of phenolic compounds during the subsequent hydroalcoholic extraction (0%–50% ethanol in water, v/v) for up to 4 h. The rate of phenolic compounds extraction decreased with time and was predicted rather satisfactorily (R2 = 0.898–0.989) by the Peleg’s model. The application of either PEF or US treatment prior to solid–liquid extraction (SLE) has the potential to reduce duration and concentration of ethanol to achieve the same recovery yield of phenolic compounds. Under optimised PEF (3 kV cm−1, 10 kJ kg−1) and US (400 W, 20 min) treatment conditions, the extracts obtained from either PEF or US pretreated herb samples showed higher total phenolic yield (36% on average) and antioxidant activity (FRAP) (36% on average) as compared to the control extraction, especially when 25% ethanol was used as a solvent. GC/MS analyses revealed no evidence of degradation of individual phenolics due to either PEF or US application.

Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Enhances Iron Uptake by the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of a pulsed electric field (PEF) on the level of iron ion accumulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells and to select PEF conditions optimal for the highest uptake of this element. Iron ions were accumulated most efficiently when their source was iron (III) nitrate. When the following conditions of PEF treatment were used: voltage 1500 V, pulse width 10 μs, treatment time 20 min, and a number of pulses 1200, accumulation of iron ions in the cells from a 20 h-culture reached a maximum value of 48.01 mg/g dry mass. Application of the optimal PEF conditions thus increased iron accumulation in cells by 157% as compared to the sample enriched with iron without PEF. The second derivative of the FTIR spectra of iron-loaded and -unloaded yeast cells allowed us to determine the functional groups which may be involved in metal ion binding. The exposure of cells to PEF treatment only slightly influenced the biomass and cell viability. However, iron-enriched yeast (both with or without PEF) showed lower fermentative activity than a control sample. Thus obtained yeast biomass containing a high amount of incorporated iron may serve as an alternative to pharmacological supplementation in the state of iron deficiency.

Evaluation of Pulsed Electric Field Polyphenol Extraction from Vitis vinifera, Sideritis scardica and Crocus sativus

This study exploited the application of pulsed electric field (PEF) on the recovery of polyphenols from aerial parts of Sideritis scardica, tepals of Crocus sativus, and fruits of Vitis vinifera. Short pulses of 10 μs in a period of 1 ms were applied to the plant material, while different electric field intensities, 1.2 to 2.0 kV/cm were tested to optimize the procedure. The content in total polyphenols and the polyphenolic profile of the plant extracts were evaluated. Along with PEF samples, control samples were prepared for comparison. PEF treatment enhanced the recovery in total polyphenols for all the three plants examined. A significant increase was noticed in each plant tested and PEF condition applied, though lower electric field intensities up to 1.4 kV/cm proved to be more effective. Under the optimum electric field intensities, 1.4 kV/cm for V. vinifera and 1.2 kV/cm for S. scardica and C. sativus, increases of 49.15%, 35.25%, and 44.36% in total polyphenol content, respectively, were achieved. Additionally, an 85% increase of quercetin 3-rutinoside for V. vinifera, a 56% of apigenin 7-O-glucoside for S. scardica, and a 64% increase for kaempferol 3-O-glucoside for C. sativus were obtained.

Terahertz oscillations in gallium nitride quantum-well channels predicted by hot-electron noise temperature behavior at microwave frequency

The almost periodic streaming motion of accelerated electrons under moderate electric fields coupled with almost periodic emission of longitudinal optical (LO) phonons is studied in a gallium nitride quantum-well—a promising pathway for terahertz (THz) oscillations. The optimal conditions for the LO-phonon-terminated streaming depend, among others, on the density of the electron gas, the low-field electron mobility, the lattice temperature, and the electric field in a very specific way. The present manuscript exploited the electron noise temperature measured at an X band frequency as a marker for the oscillations at THz frequencies. The idea was tested on a deterministic model for a GaN two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) through calculation of the electron noise temperature spectra in the Langevin approach for the frequency range from 1 GHz to 10 THz. The noise temperature at 10 GHz was found to be in a strong anticorrelation with the THz peaks in the noise temperature spectrum. In particular, a weaker dependence on the applied electric field at 10 GHz implies stronger THz oscillations. In an experiment, the microwave hot-electron noise measurements were carried out for AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructures with the 2DEG channel at 10 GHz under pulsed electric field conditions in order to mitigate the effect of Joule heating of the channel. The plateau-like behavior of the noise temperature, in its dependence on the electric field, was obtained for the 2DEG channels with rather low electron densities (2.5×1012 cm−2) in a good agreement with the model. The aforementioned plateau in the electron noise temperature observed at 10 GHz can be used as an indicator for the THz oscillations.

Application of pulsed electric fields for the biocompatible extraction of proteins from the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis

This study aims to employ a pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment for the biocompatible (non-destructive) extraction of proteins from living cells of the green microalga Haematococcus pluvialis. Using a field strength of 1 kV cm−1, we achieved the extraction of 10.2 µg protein per mL of culture, which corresponded to 46% of the total amount of proteins that could be extracted by complete destructive extraction (i.e. the grinding of biomass with glass beads). We found that the extraction yield was not improved by stronger field strengths and was not dependent on the pulse frequency. A biocompatibility index (BI) was defined as the relative abundance of cells that remained alive after the PEF treatment. This index relied on measurements of several physiological parameters after a PEF treatment. It was found that at 1 kV cm−1 that cultures recovered after 72 h. Therefore, these PEF conditions constituted a good compromise between protein extraction efficiency and culture survival. To characterize the PEF treatment further at a molecular level, mass spectrometry-based proteomics analyses of PEF-prepared extracts was used. This led to the identification of 52 electro-extracted proteins. Of these, only 16 proteins were identified when proteins were extracted with PEF at 0.5 cm−1. They belong to core metabolism, stress response and cell movement. Unassigned proteins were also extracted. Their physiological implications and possible utilization in food as alimentary complements are discussed.

Application of Pulsed Electric Field in Antifouling Treatment of Sodium Gluconate Mother Liquor by Electrodialysis.

Contamination of ion exchange membranes is one of the major problems in electrodialysis. Among the solutions that have been proposed and tested to alleviate membrane fouling during electrodialysis so far, applying a pulsed electric field (PEF) at a fixed application time (Ton) followed by a pause time (Toff) has been proved to be effective. In this study, the PEF was applied to desalinate sodium gluconate mother liquor by ED. The experimental properties of conventional ED and pulsed ED and their effects on membrane fouling were compared. The results show that compared with conventional ED, pulsed ED can alleviate concentration polarization and enhance the performance of ED. Similarly, in the process of continuous batch treatment of mother liquor under the PEF condition, large organic molecules can be effectively prevented from depositing on the membrane surface. Therefore, an anion exchange membrane (AEM) under the condition of PEF is contaminated mainly by organic molecules with a relatively smaller size. Both the surface and interior of AEM membrane were affected by organic pollutants under conventional electric field (CEF) conditions.

Optimization of pulsed electric field conditions for sugar extraction from carrots.

Physical destruction and thermal treatment are pretreatment methods used to destroy cell membranes and facilitate the release of solute extraction. In this paper, sugar extraction from carrots under different pulsed electric field conditions (field strengths of 250, 750, and 1,250 V/cm, pulse numbers of 10, 45, and 80, and pulse frequency of 1 Hz) and simultaneous thermal treatments (at 20, 45, and 70°C) were studied based on full factorial design experiments with 27 runs. Carrot slices treated with PEF were suspended in water at the desired temperature and liquid‐to‐solid weight ratio of L/S = 2. Immediately after the PEF treatment, a significant increase in solute extraction was observed due to the permeability of cell membrane that could lead to the enhancement of solute convection on the surface of the tissue. Optimum extraction parameters were obtained as follows: PEF with the field intensity of 750 V/cm, 10 pulses, and temperature of 45°C.

How demineralization duration by electrodialysis under high frequency pulsed electric field can be the same as in continuous current condition and that for better performances?

The pulses shapes during pulsed electric field (PEF) application in electrodialysis of model salt solutions has always been presented with almost the same current/voltage vs time value whatever the demineralization rate. However, in PEF mode, the current flows across the membranes only during a certain fraction of the total treatment time. The reasons for this effect remain unclear. In addition, on complex ion solutions such as sweet whey, the evolution of the current/voltage as a function of time and voltage spike at the beginning of each pulse lapse (pulse shape) during demineralization has never been studied. In this work, it was observed that the high frequency PEF condition 0.1s–0.1s (5 Hz) required almost the same time, including the PEF pause duration, than continuous current condition to reach a final demineralization rate of 70% and that with lower number of charges transported, energy consumption and pH variations. Furthermore, it was demonstrated, that the pulse shape as measured by anode-cathode potential difference and potential drop at the membranes varied as a function of the demineralization rate. This variation in pulse aspect was related to the migration kinetics of ions, which changed along the electrodialysis of sweet whey. It also varied according to the pulse-pause PEF combinations tested since electroconvective vortices triggered by voltage spike had time to fade out in the case of low frequency PEF such as 1s–1s (0.5 Hz). The higher migration rate of Ca2+ and Mg2+ for PEF condition with longer pause lapse was explained by the partial restoration of 1) the concentration profiles in the solutions adjacent to the membrane surface and 2) the membrane control over the kinetics of ion separation as confirmed by computation. Indeed, the effective transport numbers for Ca2+ and Na+ computed at j = 0.6 jlim were respectively 0.52 and 0.48 in the continuous current mode and 0.68 and 0.32 in the PEF mode at a frequency of 0.5 Hz. At last, the lower pH variations observed in the sweet whey compartment for PEF conditions were explained by the rapid depletion of the solution near the membrane surface at the beginning of the pulse lapse and leading to complex phenomena such as the dissociation of weak-acid anions.

Systematic Study of the Impact of Pulsed Electric Field Parameters (Pulse/Pause Duration and Frequency) on ED Performances during Acid Whey Treatment.

Processing acid whey is still a challenge for the dairy industry due to its high lactic acid and mineral contents. Their removal processes represent a high investment and running cost in addition to significant production of polluting effluents. A previous study showed that the use of electrodialysis with the application of pulsed electric fields (PEFs) was sufficiently efficient to produce dryable acid whey with reduced scaling issues during the process. In the present work, eight PEF conditions using different pulse/pause durations and frequencies were tested for 1) process optimization and 2) understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in PEF process improvements. Best results were obtained for PEF conditions (5 s/5 s) and (15 s/15 s) with almost complete scaling mitigation and minimal energy consumption (5.3 ± 0.4 Wh/g of lactic acid vs. 9.33 ± 1.38 Wh/g for continuous current). Longer pause times also led to better divalent ion demineralization at the expense of sodium elimination induced by stronger affinity with the membrane and longer retention times. For the first time, PEF parameters of relatively low frequencies (<1) were studied in sub-limiting current conditions on a complex solution such as acid whey.

Optimization of high-intensity pulsed electric field-assisted extraction of procyanidins from Vitis amurensis seeds using response surface methodology

Procyanidins (PC) from Vitis amurensis seeds was extracted using high-intensity pulsed electric field (PEF). The process parameters including pulse number, electric field strength, ratio of material to liquid and ethanol concentration were studied using response surface methodology, and extraction yield of the extracts were determined. Antioxidant activity of the extracts by PEF, ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and ethanol extraction (EAE) were compared based on total antioxidant capacity, DPPH radical scavenging capacity and ferrous ion chelating activity. The results revealed that the optimization of conditions of PEF are: pulse number 10; electric field strength 25 kV/cm; ratio of material to liquid 1:21 g/mL; ethanol concentration 63% (v/v), and the PC yields reached 8.23% under this condition. The PEF resulted in a highest extraction yield of PC among the four extraction methods. There was no significant difference in total antioxidant capacity of PC obtained by four methods, the DPPH radical scavenging capacity and ferrous ion chelating activity of PC extracted by PEF were close to that of UAE and MAE, which were superior to EAE. These showed that PEF was an effective method for extracting PC.

Rapid determination of the electroporation threshold for bacteria inactivation using a lab-on-a-chip platform

Electroporation based locally enhanced electric field treatment (LEEFT) is an emerging bacteria inactivation technology for drinking water disinfection. Nevertheless, the lethal electroporation threshold (LET) for bacteria has not been studied, partly due to the tedious work required by traditional experimental methods. Here, a lab-on-a-chip device composed of platinum electrodes deposited on a glass substrate is developed for rapid determination of the LET. When voltage pulses are applied, an electric field with a linear strength gradient is generated on a channel between the electrodes. Bacterial cells exposed to the electric field stronger than the LET are inactivated, while others remain intact. After a cell staining process to differentiate dead and live bacterial cells, the LETs are obtained by analyzing the fluorescence microscopy images. Staphylococcus epidermidis has been utilized as a model bacterium in this study. The LETs range from 10 kV/cm to 35 kV/cm under different pulsed electric field conditions, decreasing with the increase of pulse width, effective treatment time, and pulsed electric field frequency. The effects of medium properties on the LET were also investigated. This lab-on-a-chip device and the experimental approach can also be used to determine the LETs for other microorganisms found in drinking water.

Identification of equivalent processing conditions for pasteurization of strawberry juice by high pressure, ultrasound, and pulsed electric fields processing

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of high pressure processing (HPP), ultrasound (US) and pulsed electric fields (PEF) for the pasteurization of strawberry juice (SJ). Acid-adapted Escherichia coli was used to inoculate SJ prior to treatment with HPP, US, and PEF. HPP was applied at several pressures (200–400 MPa) up to 2 min while US (120 μm, 24 kHz) was conducted at 25, 40, and 55 °C up to 10 min in continuous pulsing mode. In order to avoid excessive use of SJ, PEF was performed using a model solution (MS) basically composed of citric acid (8 g/L), fructose (35 g/L), glucose (35 g/L), Na2HPO4 (0.2 M) and NaCl (5%) to simulate the SJ electrical conductivity, pH, and total soluble solid (TSS). A face-centered composite design was conducted for PEF processing at different electric field intensities (EFI) (25–35 kV/cm) and treatment times (5–27 μs). Processing conditions were selected that resulted in 5-log CFU/mL inactivation of E. coli. HPP at 300 MPa for 1 min, and US at 55 °C (thermosonication) for 3 min reduced E. coli in SJ by 5.75 ± 0.52 and 5.69 ± 0.61 log CFU/mL, respectively. PEF treatment at 35 kV/cm, 27 μs treatment time, 350 mL/min flow rate, and 2 μs pulse width in monopolar mode resulted in 5.53 ± 0.00 log reduction of E. coli in MS. Likewise, E. coli population in SJ was also reduced by 5.16 ± 0.15 log after applying the same PEF conditions to SJ. No E. coli was detected in SJ subjected to conventional thermal pasteurization at 72 °C for 15 s. All technologies reduced the natural microbiota below 2 log CFU/mL in terms of the total aerobic bacteria and yeast-mold counts. Thus, this study identified the equivalent conditions for the SJ pasteurization by three nonthermal processing technologies. Industrial relevance Consumers have an increasing interest towards fresh-like food products with desirable nutritional and sensorial attributes. High pressure, ultrasound and pulsed electric field are three relevant novel nonthermal technologies as alternatives to conventional thermal treatments. This study identified the processing conditions of these three nonthermal technologies for the pasteurization of strawberry juice based on equivalent inactivation of acid-adapted E. coli. From an industrial point of view, the established processing conditions are useful references for the development of novel berry juices. In addition to microbiological safety, this study on equivalent processing allows direct efficacy and quality comparisons of a given juice pasteurized by the three nonthermal technologies under consideration.

(Invited) Stray Light Suppression Using Carbon Nanotube Based Black Coating

Space-borne instruments, such as exo-atmospheric optical sensors and seeker telescopes, require low reflectivity surfaces to minimize stray and reflected light across the visible and infrared wavebands. Black surface coating treatments have been demonstrated as effective approaches to obtain low reflective surfaces. The surface features and intrinsic properties of the coating materials play an important role for scattering, absorbing, or trapping light. The excellent optical absorption performance, light weight, and large surface areas of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) make them as ideal coating materials for obtaining low reflectivity surfaces. Within this context, Faraday Technology Inc. is developing an electrophoretic deposition process to deposit dense, multi-walled carbon nanotubes onto test substrates. Specifically, we are evaluating the effect of bath formulation and pulsed electric field deposition parameters then characterizing the deposited CNT coatings by reflectance spectra. The bath formulation was controlled by modifying the surface charge of the carbon nanotubes by polymer dispersants or bound functional groups, next these functionalized materials were electrophoretically deposited onto the substrates under an applied pulsed electric field. As shown in Figure 1, it is possible to achieve a uniform CNT coating on a stainless steel substrate (Figure 1 Inset) that achieves a diffuse reflectance of 0.8% ~ 1.2% over the visible range. Currently, we are working to optimize the pulsed electric field conditions to achieve lower reflectivity CNT coating formation. If successful this program will demonstrate a scalable technique for producing CNT black coatings can not only be used for minimizing stray and reflected light for space-borne instruments, but also offer potential applications in other optical related devices which request low reflective surfaces, such as solar cells. Acknowledgements: The financial support of NASA Contract No. 80NNSC18P2062 is acknowledged. Figure 1

Optimization of Pulsed Electric Field Treatment for the Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Blackcurrant

The objective of this work was to enhance the bioactive compounds extraction of blackcurrant using pulsed electric fields (PEF) technology. An experimental design was performed to find the best PEF conditions using the desirability approach and response surface methodology. The effect of the electric field strength and the treatment time over the total polyphenolic content (TPC) and the antioxidant activity (AA) was analyzed. The optimum treating conditions were found to be 1318 V/cm and 315 pulses, and resulted in increments of 19%, 45%, and 6%, for TPC, AA, and total monomeric anthocyanins, respectively. Two initial temperatures were studied (10 and 22 °C) during electroporation. A significant effect of temperature over PEF treatment was observed. The PEF treatment was appropriate for increasing the extraction of bioactive compounds, leading to improved blackcurrant juices that could be used as ingredients for functional foods.

Moderate intensity Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) as alternative mild preservation technology for fruit juice

Moderate intensity Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) was studied for microbial inactivation as an alternative to high intensity PEF or to classical thermal pasteurization. The process is characterized by the application of electric pulses, allowing an increase of the product temperature by the ohmic heat generated by the pulses. A systematic evaluation of the effect of parameters electric field strength (E) and pulse width (τ) on the inactivation of Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Lactobacillus plantarum, Salmonella Senftenberg and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in orange juice was carried out in a continuous flow system. A wide range of conditions was evaluated, and both E and τ were shown to be important in the efficacy to inactivate micro-organisms. Remarkably, PEF conditions at E = 2.7 kV/cm and τ = 15–1000 μs showed to be more effective in microbial inactivation than at E = 10 kV/cm and τ = 2 μs.Inactivation kinetics of the tested PEF conditions were compared to an equivalent thermal process to disentangle non-thermal effects (electroporation) from thermal effects responsible for the microbial inactivation. At standard high intensity PEF treatment a non-thermal inactivation at E = 20 kV/cm and τ = 2 μs pulses was observed and attributed to electroporation. Non-thermal effects could also be resolved with moderate intensity PEF at E = 2.7 kV/cm and pulse width between τ = 15–1000 μs. Microbial inactivation at these moderate intensity PEF conditions was studied in more detail at different pH and medium conductivity for E. coli and L. monocytogenes in watermelon juice and coconut water. Under moderate intensity PEF conditions the effectiveness of treatment was independent of pH for all evaluated matrices in the pH range of 3.8–6.0, whereas under high intensity PEF conditions the pH of the product is a critical factor for microbial inactivation. This suggests that the inactivation proceeds through a different mechanism at moderate intensity PEF, and speculations for this mechanism are presented. In conclusion, moderate intensity PEF conditions at E = 2.7 kV/cm and pulse width of 15–1000 μs has potential for industrial processing for the preservation of fruit juices and pH neutral liquid food products.

Positive Impact of Pulsed Electric Field on Lactic Acid Removal, Demineralization and Membrane Scaling during Acid Whey Electrodialysis.

The drying of acid whey is hindered by its high mineral and organic acid contents, and their removal is performed industrially through expensive and environmentally impacting serial processes. Previous works demonstrated the ability to remove these elements by electrodialysis alone but with a major concern—membrane scaling. In this study, two conditions of pulsed electric field (PEF) were tested and compared to conventional DC current condition to evaluate the potential of PEF to mitigate membrane scaling and to affect lactic acid and salt removals. The application of a PEF 25 s/25 s pulse/pause combination at an initial under-limiting current density allowed for decreasing the amount of scaling, the final system electrical resistance by 32%, and the relative energy consumption up to 33%. The use of pulsed current also enabled better lactic acid removal than the DC condition by 10% and 16% for PEF 50 s/10 s and 25 s/25 s, respectively. These results would be due to two mechanisms: (1) the mitigation of concentration polarization phenomenon and (2) the rinsing of the membranes during the pause periods. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first time that PEF current conditions were used on acid whey to both demineralize and deacidify it.

Pulsed Electric Field Extraction and Antioxidant Activity Determination of Moringa oleifera Dry Leaves: A Comparative Study with Other Extraction Techniques

The scope of this work was to determine the possibility of the application of the pulsed electric field (PEF) technique to the production of extracts from Moringa oleifera plant material (freeze-dried leaves). Various PEF conditions (pulse duration—PD; and pulse interval—PI) were tested. A field strength of 7 kV/cm was used. The total phenols in the extracts were evaluated by the Folin–Ciocalteu method and the antioxidant activity was evaluated by the radical scavenging activity (DPPH•), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Rancimat methods. The results were compared with those of the extracts obtained using other extraction techniques, namely microwave-assisted and ultrasound-assisted extractions, simple boiling water extraction, and plain maceration with water (as the control). The highest extraction of total phenols was achieved by the PEF procedure using 40 min treatment at a PD of 20 msec and a PI of 100 μsec. Additionally, all methods for the determination of the antioxidant activity showed that the activity of the extracts was proportional to the total phenol content. Concerning the PEF procedure, a low pulse duration with a high pulse interval is proposed in order to achieve higher extraction efficiency.

Pulsed Electric Field as an Alternative Pre-treatment for Drying to Enhance Polyphenol Extraction from Fresh Tea Leaves

Drying is an essential pre-treatment prior to extraction of tea polyphenols from tea leaves, which is a time and energy-intensive process. In this study, pulsed electric field (PEF) was utilized to replace the conventional thermal dehydration procedure before the phenolic extraction. The influence of different PEF conditions on total polyphenol yield from fresh tea leaves combined with a solid-liquid extraction were compared. PEF treatment at 1.00 kV/cm electric field strength, 100 pulses of 100 μs pulse duration, and 5 s pulse repetition, which delivered 22 kJ/kg and induced 1.5 °C of temperature increase, was used for further study on the extraction kinetics of green tea catechins. The results indicated that compared to oven drying, PEF pre-treatment increased the extraction rate by approximately two times, without significantly altering the phenolic profiles, as revealed by using liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry. Scanning electron microscopy imaging revealed that PEF pre-treatment induced the formation of inhomogeneously distributed pores and protuberances on the surface of leaf tissues, which might facilitate the penetration of extraction solvent and the migration of phenolics. This study demonstrates that PEF as a time and energy efficient processing method is a promising alternative for the conventional drying process before further tea polyphenol extraction.

Combined effect of pulsed electric field and osmotic dehydration pre-treatments on mass transfer and quality of air dried goji berry

Abstract Pulsed electric field (PEF) and osmotic dehydration (OD) pre-treatments can improve the slow and energy intensive process of goji berry drying. The effect of PEF and OD processing conditions on mass transfer, color, antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content was studied. Application of PEF (0.9–2.8 kV/cm, up to 7500 pulses) caused tissue permeabilization (electrical conductivity disintegration index, Zp, value up to 0.38, due to the structure of goji berry waxy peel) and significantly enhanced mass transfer during subsequent OD and air drying (increased effective diffusivity coefficients Dew and Des and drying rate kdrying respectively). Combining OD (55 °C, 60 min), PEF (2.8 kV/cm, 750 p) and air drying (60 °C) compared to conventional air drying led to total processing time decrease (by 180 min or 33%), better color retention, higher antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content.