A Review of the Performance and Applications of Electric Pulse in the Extraction of Natural Dye

In recent years, the demand for good quality natural products and minimally processed products with high nutritional value has increased. One of the most important natural materials in demand is natural edible dye. Pulsed electric fields in food processing focus on two main areas: microbial inactivation and preservation of liquid foods and enhancing mass and tissue transfer in solids and liquids. The pulse process uses pulsed electric fields with high voltage, which are used quickly for the food between two electrodes. Due to the short duration of the pulses, a little heat is generated in the foodstuff. Thus, the nutrients, vitamins, texture and flavour, as well as the microstructure of the foodstuff, are better preserved than the samples that are subjected to the thermal process. Natural dyes are very sensitive to the processes applied in conventional extraction techniques, such as thermal, mechanical and chemical stresses. Pulsed electric field (PEF) technology is promising as a non-thermal alternative.