Optimum PEF treatment parameters for enhancing betalains extraction and juice yield of Opuntia ficus-indica fruit

SURANO, BÁRBARA; LEIVA, GRACIELA; MAGLIETTI, FELIPE; SCHEBOR, CAROLINA

Toulouse

Congreso; 3erd World Congress on Electroporation; 2019

ISEBTT

Opuntia cactus has become an important crop in arid and semi-arid regions, and it is widely used to prevent soil erosion and to combat desertification.Purple prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica fruit) contains several pigments and bioactive compounds that can be used to add nutritional value to differentfoods. In this work, we explored different pulse parameters to treat purple prickly pear. The electroporation chamber consisted of 5 rows of 10 needles,separated 1 cm from each other, which allows the treatment of the whole fruit. Optimal parameters for betalains extraction were selected from 10-250 pulsesof 100 us of 250-3000 V/cm at 10 Hz. Selection of optimal parameters was based on a cell disintegration index over 60%, temperature increase of less than10oC, and the highest betalain extraction. The optimum parameters obtained were 60 pulses of 1200 V/cm (total specific energy was 11.4 kJ/kg). Betalainsextraction with PEF treatment was 40% higher and juice yield was 3.7 times higher when compared with untreated fruit. In conclusion, PEF can be efficientlyused to treat purple prickly pear for increasing juice extraction yield and also the betalains content, providing a rich source of natural colorants.