Effect of Traditional and Emerging Conservation Technologies on Bioactive Compounds and Their Antioxidant Capacity in Plant Foods

Commercially available fruit juices are obtained after applying industrial technologies to preserve and extend the shelf-life by inactivation of microorganism and enzymes. These are traditional thermal treatment (eg. pasteurization, sterilization) that causes losses of nutritional and bioactive compounds, changes physicochemical properties (colour, flavor and texture) and can modify their bioavailabilities. Thus, the traditional thermal processing is being replaced by less intense thermal technologies (e.g. low-temperature pasteurization / refrigerated storage) and non-thermal treatments such as the high-pressure processing (HPP) and the pulsed electric fields (PEF) as an alternative to enhace food safety and shelf-life without compromising organoleptic qualities (retain the flavour, color healthiness of fresh foods) and keeping their health-promoting capacity. The beneficial health effect derived from the orange juice intake is partly related to the bioavailability of their bioactive compounds.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the intake of freshly squeezed orange juice (Citrus sinensis L.) and processed orange juice elaborated with different treatments (low pasteurization / refrigerated storage, high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields) on the main serum carotenoid concentrations in a cross-over study in apparently healthy subjects using multiple dosis.