Recovery of colorants from red prickly pear peels and pulps enhanced by pulsed electric field and ultrasound

The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of the non-conventional pre-treatments; pulsed electric fields (PEFs) and ultrasounds (USNs), to enhance the extraction of red colorants from red prickly pear ( Opuntia stricta Haw.) peels and pulps. The overall goal was to valorize the thick part of the fruit, being discarded for fruit's consumption. PEF and USN treatments were first optimized using fruit slices, followed by a supplementary aqueous extraction (+ SAE) up to 1 h. The optimal conditions were then applied for peels and pulps, separately. Results showed that PEF + SAE and USN + SAE enhanced significantly the extraction of red colorants (betanin/isobetanin), compared to untreated tissues. Promising results for colorants recovery were obtained from fruit peels, using both pre-treatments, compared to that obtained from pulps, and without pre-treatment. Scanning electron microscopy revealed cell denaturation after PEF and USN pre-treatments, which can provide better recovery of the intracellular compounds with less impurity. Industrial relevance Wastes and by-products generated during fruit processing constitute a great source of high-added value compounds, which have the potential to be used as food additives and/or as nutraceuticals. Opuntia fruits constitute a great source of bioactive compounds. In particular, Opuntia fruit processing by-products are interesting as they contain a great amount of potential food additives, including food colorants (i.e. betanin/isobetanin), thus constituting an important alternative to replace synthetic colorants that have been restricted by governmental organizations. In this line, pulsed electric field and ultrasounds are proposed in this work as promising technologies for the enhancement of the extraction of colorants from red prickly pear peels and pulps.