Effect of high pressure homogenization (HPH) on the physical properties of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L). Schott) pulp

• The effect of HPH on the physical properties of taro pulp was investigated.
• HPH treatment changed the PSD, microstructure, zeta potential, pulp sedimentation behavior, SC, color and TSS of taro pulp.
• HPH treatment helps to enhance the physical properties of taro pulp.
• Taro pulp homogenized at 30 MPa showed the highest suspension stability in the sedimentation test.
• The results suggest that HPH technology can be profitably applied to the manufacturing of taro based beverages.

To investigate the effect of high pressure homogenization (HPH) on the physical properties of taro pulp, the pulp (15% w/w) was homogenized at different pressures, ranging from 0 to 60 MPa. Our present work evaluated the changes in particle size distribution (PSD), microstructure, zeta potential, serum cloudiness (SC), pulp sedimentation behavior, color and total soluble solids (TSS) of the suspensions. The results indicated that particle size (PS) and cloudiness decreased with the increase of pressure due to the disruption of suspended particles during HPH processing. The effect of homogenization pressure on particle size, serum cloudiness and sedimentation index followed an asymptotic behavior. HPH increased the dispersion of pulp particles, hence increasing the consistency and reducing particle sedimentation. The pulp homogenized at 30 MPa showed the highest suspension stability in the sedimentation test, which indicated that HPH could be used as a valuable tool to improve the physical stability of taro pulp. Moreover, HPH increased the absolute zeta potential, lightness and TSS of the homogenized samples (P < 0.05).