Nutritional quality and sensory attributes of Actinidia arguta fruit purée: Effect of pasteurization vs. high hydrostatic pressure treatment

The study aimed to assess nutritional quality and sensory attributes of fruit purée exposed to high hydrostatic pressure (HPP) at 450 MPa for 5 min. For comparison, the purée was also processed using low-temperature pasteurization (LTP) at 74 °C for 2 min, and high-temperature pasteurization (HTP) at 90 °C for 1 min. The research focused on purée from Actinidia arguta fruit cv. ‘Weiki’. HHP and HTP effectively inhibited the growth of microorganisms. Peroxidase (POD) activity was significantly reduced, particularly in LTP and HTP purées. Whereas polyphenol oxidase (PPO) remained active in all the tested samples. The sum of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the purées decreased after all processing methods, although HHP resulted in less VOCs degradation compared to LTP and HTP. In contrast, the processed purées showed a significant increase in the total phenolic index (TPI). Ellagic acid (212.47 μg/g) and quercetin (120.94 μg/g) were the dominant compounds in the LTP purée. The purées treated with HHP and HTP exhibited the highest concentrations of ellagic acid and (+)-catechin, averaging 122.66 μg/g and 123.60 μg/g, respectively. The research findings also showed that HHP enhanced antioxidant capacity and maintained sensory quality attributes compared to other thermal treatments. In conclusion, HHP (450 MPa for 5 min) demonstrated strong potential for preserving high-quality purée. Nevertheless, based on PPO and POD activity levels, a storage duration of no more than 7 days at 4 °C is recommended. • The highest increase (31%) in total phenolic index was observed for LTP purée. • HTP purée showed the highest individual flavonoids content. • The highest anti-radical potential was noted for HHP-treated purée. • POD activity was completely lost only in purées subjected to LTP and HTP. • HHP maintained 8.9/10 overall quality score, similar to native purée.