Potential Use of Vacuum Impregnation and High-Pressure Homogenization to Obtain Functional Products from Lulo Fruit (Solanum quitoense Lam.)

Lulo (Solanum quitoense Lam.) is a Colombian fruit that is mostly used in the preparation of homemade juice as well as natural remedy for hypertension. The aim of this study was to determine physicochemical and antioxidant properties (antioxidant capacity, total phenols, flavonoids and spermidine content, and polyphenolic compounds profile by liquid chromatography—mass spectrometry (LC-MS)) of the lulo fruit and its juice. Additionally, vacuum impregnation (VI) properties of the fruit and the effect of high homogenization pressure (50, 100, and 150 MPa) on the juice properties were studied. The results revealed a good availability and impregnation capacity of the pores in fruits with similar maturity index. The main differences observed between the juice and fruit derive from removing solids and bioactive components in the filtering operation. However, the effect of high-pressure homogenization (HPH) on particle size and bioactive compounds increases the antiradical capacity of the juice and the diversity in polyphenolics when increasing the homogenization pressure.