Ultra-High Temperature Effect on Bioactive Compounds and Sensory Attributes of Orange Juice Compared with Traditional Processing

Orange juices are an important source of bioactive compounds. Because of its unique combination of sensory attributes and nutritional value, orange juice is the world’s most popular fruit juice. Orange (Citrus sinensis) juice of Greek Navel variety was used in this study. The impact of Conventional Thermal Pasteurisation (94 °C/30') (CTP) and alternative Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) (130 °C/2') processing on bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity changes of fresh Navel orange juice was investigated. Sensory attributes of processed juices were evaluated. Results showed that using technologies CTP and UHT orange juice Navel significantly changed vitamin C concentration in comparison with fresh orange juice. The highest concentration of antioxidants (vitamin C, total phenols, hesperidin and carotenoids) was observed in orange juice Navel produced by UHT technology. Sensory results indicated that characteristics of the orange juice obtained using UHT technology were more liked than the CTP heat treated juice. UHT technology emerges as an advantageous alternative process to preserve bioactive compounds in orange juice.