Changes of health-related compounds throughout cold storage of tomato juice stabilized by thermal or high intensity pulsed electric field treatments

The effect of high intensity pulsed electric fields (HIPEF) processing (35 kV/cm for 1500 μs in bipolar 4-μs pulses at 100 Hz, with an energy density of 8269 kJ/L) on the main bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of tomato juice was investigated and compared to heat pasteurization (90 °C for 1 min or 30 s) having the fresh juice as a reference. HIPEF and heat treated tomato juices showed higher lycopene and lower vitamin C levels than the untreated juice. However, no significant changes in the total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity were observed between treated and fresh juices just after processing. Lycopene, vitamin C and antioxidant capacity of both treated and untreated juices decreased exponentially during storage following a first order kinetics (R2 = 0.763–0.987), whereas tomato juices maintained their initial phenolic content. HIPEF-treated tomato juice maintained higher lycopene and vitamin C content than the thermally treated juices during the storage time. Hence, the application of HIPEF may be appropriate to achieve nutritious and fresh like tomato juice.Industrial relevanceHIPEF processing can lead to tomato juice with higher nutritional value than that thermally processed. HIPEF-treated (35 kV/cm for 1500 μs with 4-μs bipolar pulses at 100 Hz, energy input of 8269 kJ/L) tomato juice shows greater lycopene, vitamin C and antioxidant capacity just after the treatment and during the storage time than heat treated (90 °C­30 s and 90 °C­60 s) tomato juice. Therefore, HIPEF technology is a feasible alternative to thermal treatment to obtain tomato juice with a high presence of health-related compounds.