Effect of Irradiation and High Pressure Processing Technologies on the Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacities of Vegetables

Thermal treatment of food is done in the food industry for preservation purposes. Food preservation prevents deteriorative reactions, extends a food’s shelf life and assures its safety. Thermal processing has most of the characteristics of an ideal food preservation method. However, in some foods the high thermotolerance of certain enzymes and microorganisms, mainly bacterial spores, entails the application of extreme heat treatments, which changes the nutritional, phytochemical and organoleptic food properties. Therefore, alternatives to thermal processing as the main means of inactivating pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms are being developed by researchers. The present review focuses on the effect of some non thermal processing technologies on the bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities of some vegetables.