Enhancement of anthocyanins extraction from haskap by cold plasma pretreatment

The economic value of haskap is low because of low utilization caused by factors such as harvesting, storage and transportation, and the sour taste. However, its value can be increased by extraction due to its large content of anthocyanins. This study helped to extract haskap by using cold plasma as pretreatment at different power (0, 100, 200, 300 W) in terms of extraction yield, monomer composition, and antioxidant capacity. It was shown that cold plasma pretreatment (CPP) degraded the cell wall components of haskap, increased its surface roughness, enhanced its hydrophilicity, improved its hydration properties, and modified its enzymatic activity. CPP significantly increased the extraction rate of anthocyanins (13.35‐20.47%), promoted the number of anthocyanin monomers, and enhanced the antioxidant activity of the extracts. These results suggest that CPP can successfully facilitate the extraction of anthocyanins and is a promising technology to add value to haskap for functional foods and nutritional products. Industrial relevance: Haskap is a good source of anthocyanins, however, conventional methods of anthocyanin extraction usually require the use of large amounts of organic solvents and are time-consuming. Cold plasma pretreatment can not only help reduce chemical pollution to the environment and improve the utilization of haskap, but also convert it into functional and nutritional food ingredients with value-added properties in a more efficient way.