Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of organic fruits subjected to PEF assisted osmotic dehydration

Journal article, 2020

The effect of PEF pre-treatment prior to osmotic dehydration on mass transfer parameters, colour, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties in organic strawberries and kiwifruits was evaluated. An increase of water loss in both fruits upon the application of combined processes was noticed (up to 21.6%), while a decrease of solid gain was observed only in kiwifruit samples dehydrated in sucrose (about 45%). In general, the combined treatments were beneficial for colour maintenance in both fruit tissues. The antioxidant capacity (DPPH) and activity (ORAC) increased after PEF treatment, however, all the combined treatments reduced significantly these values (of about 20 and 28% for strawberry and of about 56 and 35% for kiwifruit, respectively for DPPH and ORAC methods). In general, PEF treatment alone was also effective with regard to an increase in the antimicrobial activity of the samples against the tested microorganisms (B. subtilis, E.coli, S. cerevisiae)