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

GRACIELA LEIVA; GUILLERMO MARSHALL; FELIPE MAGLIETTI; BARBARA SURANO; CAROLINA SCHEBOR

Toulouse

Congreso; 3RD WORLD CONGRESS ON ELECTROPORATION; 2019

Opuntia cactus has become an important crop in aridand semi-arid regions, and it is widely used to prevent soilerosion and to combat desertification. Purple prickly pear(Opuntia ficus-indica fruit) contains several pigments andbioactive compounds that can be used to add nutritionalvalue to different foods. In this work, we explored differentpulse parameters to treat purple prickly pear. Theelectroporation chamber consisted of 5 rows of 10 needles,separated 1 cm from each other, which allows the treatmentof the whole fruit. Optimal parameters for betalainsextraction were selected from 10-250 pulses of 100 us of250-3000 V/cm at 10 Hz. Selection of optimal parameterswas based on a cell disintegration index over 60%, temperatureincrease of less than 10ºC, and the highest betalainextraction. The optimum parameters obtained were 60pulses of 1200 V/cm (total specific energy was 11.4 kJ/kg).Betalains extraction with PEF treatment was 40% higherand juice yield was 3.7 times higher when compared withuntreated fruit. In conclusion, PEF can be efficiently usedto treat purple prickly pear for increasing juice extractionyield and also the betalains content, providing a richsource of natural colorants.