Effect of High-Pressure Treatment on the Carotenoid Composition and the Radical Scavenging Activity of Persimmon Fruit Purees

The carotenoid composition of persimmon fruit purees of two cultivars, cvs. Rojo Brillante and Sharon, grown in Spain was determined by HPLC to assess the effects of high-pressure processing on some sensory (carotenoids), nutritional (provitamin A value), and health-related (radical-scavenging capacity) parameters. Total carotenoid content was higher in untreated Rojo Brillante puree (22.11 μg g-1) than in untreated Sharon puree (15.22 μg g-1). Purees of both untreated cultivars showed similar carotenoid patterns after saponification with β-cryptoxanthin, β-carotene, and zeaxanthin as the main pigments. A high content of lycopene was quantified in Rojo Brillante (5.34 μg g-1), whereas only traces were detected in Sharon. The provitamin A value, reported as retinol equivalents (RE), was in untreated Rojo Brillante puree (77 RE/100 g) similar to that of Sharon (75 RE/100 g). Scavenging free radical capacity, measured as antiradical efficiency (AE), showed in untreated Rojo Brillante puree a value (12.14 × 10-3) 8.5 times higher than that in untreated Sharon (1.42 × 10-3). Nonuniform behavior of high-pressure treatment was detected. Pressure treatments at 50 and 300 MPa/15 min/25 °C for Rojo Brillante and at 50 and 400 MPa/15 min/25 °C for Sharon increased the amount of extractable carotenoids (9−27%), which are related with the increase of vitamin A value (75−87 RE/100 g). No correlation with the increase of AE (from 1.42 × 10-3 to 16.73 × 10-3 and 19.58 × 10-3) after some pressure treatments (150 and 300 MPa/15 min/25 °C) was found. Keywords: Persimmon; carotenoids; HPLC; high pressure; processing effects; radical-scavenging capacity; vitamin A value; cultivar differences