Bioavailability of Lycopene and ß-Carotene from <em>gazpacho</em> (Freshly Prepared, High-Pressure Processed, Pulsed Electric Field Treated and Commercial Low-Temperature Pasteurised) in a Crossover Study of Healthy Individuals

The effect of consuming freshly prepared gazpacho (a Mediterranean vegetable soup) or gazpacho processed by low-temperature pasteurisation (LP), high-pressure processing (HPP) or pulsed electric field (PEF) on the serum ly-copene and β-carotene concentrations of 12 healthy subjects aged 20–32 years enrolled in a crossover study was assessed. Participants were instructed to consume 500 ml of gazpacho per day for 14-day periods. Carotenoid concen-trations in fasted serum samples on days 7 and 14 of the study, as well as in the gazpacho, were analysed by HPLC. The degree of change in the serum responses varied according to the pro-cessing method applied to the gazpacho consumed. After adjusting for the ly-copene and β-carotene concentrations in the gazpacho-FP intake, a significant increase in serum lycopene was observed only with freshly prepared and consumed sample, FP (p=0.043, CI: 0.96, 44.3). As there was no interaction with time, the serum responses were assessed using combined data from three time points for each gazpacho group. Serum lycopene concentrations were signifi-cantly highest with FP and HPP, followed by PEF and LP. Gazpacho-LP intake induced the lowest lycopene response, with significant differences observed compared to PEF (p=0.002, CI: -17.5, -3.5), HPP (p=0.000, CI: -24.1, -14.0) and FP (p=0.000, CI -31.3 – 10.9). Similar serum β-carotene concentration responses (µg/dL) were observed for FP [36.40 ± 16.45 (23.45, 49.35)] and HPP [30.55 ± 3.81 (22.82, 38.28)], both of which were higher than the responses for LP (p=0.019, p=0.007, respectively). It appears that the processing technologies used for pasteurising gazpacho affect serum carotenoid concentrations differ-ently, with commercial LP having the least impact. Due to the high variability observed in serum carotenoid concentrations, the effect of different technologies on these concentrations should be verified in a large number of subjects.