Abstract

High hydrostatic pressure assisted extraction (HHPE) has several advantages when compared to traditional extraction methods, which frequently cause degradation and loss of target components and might consume large volumes of environmentally unfriendly solvents. The aim of this study was to develop an assisted extraction method using high hydrostatic pressure (HHPE) and to evaluate both HHPE and conventional extraction methods for β-carotene, antioxidant compounds and vitamin C from cape gooseberry. β-carotene and compounds with antioxidant activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical assay (DPPH*) or radical scavenging activity; ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP)) were extracted using HHPE for 5 min, 10 min and 15 min at 500 MPa, while vitamin C was extracted at 500 MPa for 30 s, 60 s and 90 s. Processing significantly affected (p ≤ 0.05) the β-carotene content of all samples, increasing retention by 8%, 14% and 15% at 500 MPa after 5 min, 10 min and 15 min of HPPE, respectively. The highest antioxidant content determined by DPPH* and FRAP assays was obtained in a sample treated at 500 MPa for 15 min, showing increases of 26% and 51%, respectively, compared with an untreated sample. The ascorbic acid content of fresh cape gooseberry was 26.31 mg·100 g-1. In fact, the ascorbic acid levels were significantly higher for all high-pressure-treated samples compared to this of conventionally extracted sample (p ≤ 0.05), exhibiting increases of 9%, 41% and 53% at 500 MPa after 30 s, 60 s and 90 s of HPPE, respectively. Thus, the application of HHPE produced higher β-carotene content, antioxidant compounds and vitamin C content and required less extraction time compared to other extraction methods. The pharmaceutical and food industries can benefit by using high pressure extraction technology.