Influence of high pressure homogenization and pasteurization on the in vitro bioaccessibility of carotenoids and flavonoids in orange juice

•Bioaccessibility of carotenoids and phenolics from processed orange juice was studied.•Pasteurization and sustainable high pressure homogenization (HPH) were challenged.•Bioaccessibility of carotenoids and expoxycarotenoids had a 5-fold increasing by HPH.•Bioaccessibility of phenolics remained unchanged by processing.•HPH is a sustainable alternative to obtain added-value health-promoting foods. Production of high-quality healthy foods through sustainable methodologies is an urgent necessity. High pressure homogenization (HPH) is an interesting alternative to obtain premium citrus juices, but its effects on bioactive compounds are unclear. There was studied the influence of HPH (150 MPa) and pasteurization (92 °C for 30 s and 85 °C for 15 s) processing on physicochemical properties and in vitro bioaccessibility of carotenoids and flavonoids in orange juices. Regarding fresh juice, physicochemical properties of samples remained unchanged although cloudiness was improved by homogenization. Pasteurization did not affect total carotenoids content and retinol activity equivalents (RAE) of juices whereas homogenization yielded a significant reduction (1.37 and 1.35-fold, respectively). Interestingly, particle size reduction from homogenization drastically enhanced (about 5-fold) bioaccessibility of carotenoids including hardly bioaccessible epoxycarotenoids, finding unaltered rates in pasteurized samples. Bioaccessibility of flavonoids was constant in all cases. Results can promote HPH as an efficient option to obtain health-enhanced foods.