Effect of high hydrostatic pressure pretreatment on physicochemical properties, bioactive components and antioxidant activities of dehydrated yam slices

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment has been widely used to achieve the desired safety and quality of food products during the past two decades. In this work, effects of HHP (100–600 MPa) pretreatments on physicochemical properties, bioactive components and antioxidant activities of dehydrated yam slices were studied. The results indicated that HHP pretreatments dramatically improved the hardness, crispness, integrity ratio, and total color change of the dehydrated yam slices, while significantly inhibited their rehydration ratio when the pressure was ≥200 MPa. According to the results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy (OM), and polarized optical microscopy (POM), HHP could induce the indentations and cracks of partly starch granules surface, but without any starch gelatinization. Compared with the control sample, higher total polyphenols compounds (TPC) and allantoin content were observed in the HHP pretreated samples, and the 200 MPa pretreated sample had the highest TPC and allantoin which reached 0.45 mg GAE/g and 5.47 mg/g dry weight, respectively. Furthermore, the antioxidant analysis showed that 100 and 200 MPa pretreatment could effectively enhance the antioxidant capacity of the yam slices. The above results suggested that HHP pretreatment, especially under 200 MPa, could be an appropriate assist for preparation of high-quality dehydrated yam slices. •High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) pretreatment was used to improve dried yam slices quality.•Integrity ratio and hardness were increased effectively by HHP ≥200 MPa.•No effects on the gelatinization of yam starch induced by HHP.•HHP remarkably enhanced total phenolic compounds and allantoin.