Effects of high pressure homogenization and addition of oil on the carotenoid bioaccessibility of carrot juice.

Food processing and dietary lipids are considered as important factors for carotenoid bioaccessibility. The effects of high pressure homogenization (HPH) combined with oil or emulsion on carotenoid retention and bioaccessibility during digestion were investigated. The results illustrated that HPH decreased the area-based diameter (D[3,2]), and negative correlations were found between the total carotenoid bioaccessibility (TCB) and D[3,2] of carrot juice. The bioaccessibility of total carotenoids, β-carotene and α-carotene of the homogenized samples was below 6%, while the addition of 2% oil, 10% oil or emulsion increased the carotenoid bioaccessibility (up to 14.08% for α-carotene). The carotenoid retention rate (CRR) of the homogenized samples was higher than that of the homogenized samples with oil or emulsion in each digestion phase. The CRR in the small intestine phase had a significant negative correlation with TCB, and therefore, a high TCB could be achieved despite a low CRR in the small intestine. Oil added as an emulsion had a slightly higher volume of free fatty acids released compared with oil added as such.