Improving quality of sea buckthorn juice by high-pressure processing

We treated the non-sterilized (NS) sea buckthorn (SBT) juice by high-pressure processing (HPP, 500 MPa for 5 min) or TP (85 °C for 30 s). Total plate count (TPC), yeast, and mold count were below the detection level (≤10 CFU/mL) in HPP juice during 0–9 d. For TP and NS groups, mold count was not detected in 0–3 d of NS juice and 0–6 d of TP juice; yeast count was undetected only in 0 d of TP juice. The physicochemical properties and levels of total soluble solids (TSS), total acids, and total sugar did not change after two treatments. The contents of vitamin C (Vc, 272.38 ± 8.13 mg/100 mL), total carotenoids (0.36 ± 0.00 mg/100 ml), and total phenols (374.48 ± 2.58 mg GAE/100 ml) were higher in HPP juice. Totally 51 flavor substances were detected in HPP juice. Only 21 volatiles were found in TP juice. For sensory evaluation, the HPP treatment significantly (p < 0.05) improved aroma and, flavor & structure scores. In summary, HPP could effectively control microbial growth and preferably retain volatiles. HPP treatment is desirable for juice production.