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HPH technology causes an increase of up to five times the bioaccessibility of total carotenoids in the juice
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These are low energy consumption technologies, thus contributing to the improvement of sustainability in the processes
Dynamic high pressure homogenization (HPH) is among the preservation techniques that have the greatest interest in the sustainable production of improved quality food products.
A recent publication in the high impact journal Jorunal of Cleaner Production, shows that this technology causes an increase of up to five times the bioaccessibility of total carotenoids in mandarin orange juice of the Ortanique variety, compared to both fresh juice and juice treated by classical pasteurization. This results in a product with improved nutritional properties.
Carotenoids are the pigments that give colour to many fruits, they are also antioxidants and have beneficial properties for health. The importance of the colour of the juice acquired thanks to them also means an additional enrichment in the attractiveness of the product for the final consumer.
The work has been carried out in collaboration with the group "Food Colour & Quality Lab, Dept. of Nutrition & Food Science" of the University of Seville and the extinct group of Juices of the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology IATA-CSIC, constituted by the researchers José Luís Navarro and Enrique Sentandreu.
"The positive effect achieved is due to the reduction in particle size exerted by the HPH treatment, thus favouring the action of the digestive enzymes" points out José Luis Navarro.
This work complements previous research by the Juice group in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Valencia (Dept. of Paediatrics, Gynaecology and Obstetrics), demonstrating the antioxidant benefits of mandarin juice consumption in severely obese and hypercholesterolemic children.
Enrique Sentandreu explains that "one of the advantages of this methodology is that the temperature and pressure can be optimised to achieve pasteurisation or sterilisation effects. Therefore, homogenisation and preservation take place in the same operation".
This research also represents an advance in the development of low energy consumption technologies, thus contributing to the sustainability of the processes.
The results obtained from this collaboration can help in the implementation of HPH processing to obtain beverages with improved nutritional properties while saving energy.
References
E. Sentandreu et al. High-pressure homogenization as compared to pasteurization as a sustainable approach to obtain mandarin juices with improved bioaccessibility of carotenoids and flavonoids. Journal of Cleaner Production. 262 (2020) 121325
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121325