Application of non-thermal technologies as a stress factor to increase the content of health-promoting compounds of minimally processed fruits and vegetables

DENOYA, GABRIELA I; COLLETTI, ANALÍA C; VAUDAGNA, SERGIO R; POLENTA, GUSTAVO A

Current Opinion in Food Science

Elsevier

Año: 2021 vol. 42 p. 224 - 236

2214-7993

Fruits and vegetables (F&V) are an acknowledged source of health-promoting compounds able to reduce incidence of chronic diseases in regular consumers. Minimally processed F&V are convenience products having a limited shelf-life because of the effect of processing operations. The application of non-thermal technologies could overcome this limitation by improving their preservation. Evidence shows that these technologies can also increase the phytochemicals content by improving their extractability and/or eliciting metabolic pathways associated with their synthesis. This review summarizes the last research on the application of highpressure processing, gamma irradiation, ultrasound, pulsed electric fields and cold plasma to increase the phytochemicals content in minimally processed F&V, and presents the current understanding on the underlying basis that explain the increase of these compounds.