Effect of Heat Treatment on the Antioxidant Capacity of Fruits and Vegetables - A Review Study

Abstract

Abstract Fruits and vegetables are a fundamental part of people's diets due to their composition of bioactive phytochemical compounds. These act as antioxidants that neutralize free radicals, which are related to various pathologies causing negative effects on the health of the host. Raw materials subjected to heat treatments at different temperatures allow the production of safe and stable foods. However, through a systematic review, the present research focused on determining whether heat treatments exert variations in the antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables. The methodology applied in the collected research studies was used to calculate the total antioxidant capacity. It was observed that FRAP, ABTS, ORAC, and DPPH assays were used. Furthermore, the total phenolic content, which is also related to the antioxidant capacity, was calculated and analyzed using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The results found by several other authors indicate that the majority refers to the thermal treatment that plays a positive role by increasing the antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables. This is due to cell breakdown caused by high temperatures. On the other hand, some results of the authors differed from the above, where, they showed that raw materials, when applied to thermal treatments, reduce the antioxidant capacity due to the inactivation effects of oxidative enzymes.

Keywords

• fruits, vegetables, trials, antioxidants, total phenols, heat treatment.