Bioavailability of Carotenoids From Orange Juice in a Cross-over Study in Healthy Subjects.

Overview

Commercially available fruit juices are obtained after applying industrial technologies to preserve and extend the shelf-life by inactivation of microorganism and enzymes. These are traditional thermal treatment (eg. pasteurization, sterilization) that causes losses of nutritional and bioactive compounds, changes physicochemical properties (colour, flavor and texture) and can modify their bioavailabilities. Thus, the traditional thermal processing is being replaced by less intense thermal technologies (e.g. low-temperature pasteurization / refrigerated storage) and non-thermal treatments such as the high-pressure processing (HPP) and the pulsed electric fields (PEF) as an alternative to enhace food safety and shelf-life without compromising organoleptic qualities (retain the flavour, color healthiness of fresh foods) and keeping their health-promoting capacity. The beneficial health effect derived from the orange juice intake is partly related to the bioavailability of their bioactive compounds. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the intake of freshly squeezed orange juice (Citrus sinensis L.) and processed orange juice elaborated with different treatments (low pasteurization / refrigerated storage, high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields) on the main serum carotenoid concentrations in a cross-over study in apparently healthy subjects using multiple dosis.

Methods Twelve healthy subjects (6 men), age 20-32 y, were enrolled in a cross-over study, to consume 500 mL of orange juice/day during 14 days periods. All volunteers consumed the LP and HPP, six consumed PEF or FS-orange juice. Fasted blood was collected at baseline and on days 7 and 14. Carotenoid concentrations in serum and orange juice were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatogry (HPLC).