ORIGINAL ARTICLE Addressing key features involved in bioactive extractability of vigor prickly pears submitted to high hydrostatic pressurization Andrea Gómez-Maqueo 1,2 | Érika Ortega-Hernández 3 | Sayra N. Serrano-Sandoval 1 | Daniel A. Jacobo-Velázquez 3 | Tomás García-Cayuela 3 | M. Pilar Cano 1,2 | Jorge Welti-Chanes 1 1 Tecnologico de Monterrey, Centro de Biotecnología FEMSA, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico 2 Departamento de Biotecnología y Microbiología de Alimentos, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Alimentación CIAL (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain 3 Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico Correspondence Jorge Welti-Chanes, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Centro de Biotecnología FEMSA, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Av. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur, Col. Tecnológico, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Email: jwelti@tec.mx Funding information Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Grant/Award Number: FunFoodEmertec; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Grant/Award Number: RTA2015-00044-C02-02 Abstract Prickly pears are relevant sources of bioactive compounds with potential biological activities. However, to become bioaccessible, these compounds must be released from the food matrix. High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) may contribute to bio- accessibility by promoting the liberation of bioactive constituents from their intracel- lular compartments. Our aim was to address key features involved in the high hydrostatic pressurization (18–34  C) of prickly pear fruits to promote bioactive extractability. We studied the effects of the come-up time (CUT) and holding time (HT; 5 min) at low (60, 100, and 150 MPa) and high pressures (400, 500, and 600 MPa) in whole-pressurized and sliced-pressurized fruits. The best overall treat- ment was found by submitting whole prickly pears to 500 MPa during the CUT. In this treatment, 104.0, 150.8, and 100.5% retention of betalains, phenolics, and ascorbic acid were observed in peels; and 130.7, 121.4, and 128.4% retention were observed in pulps. Practical Applications Prickly pears are abundant in Mexico and represent potential sources for low-cost functional foods because of their health properties. In a country constantly affected by obesity and diabetes incidence, the continuous search for nutritious and health- promoting processed foods should not be taken lightly. The use of HHP pre- treatments to enhance the functionality of local vegetable products as a goal, and no longer as a side effect represents a strong potential application of this non-thermal technology. In the next years, new sustainable processes involving HHP for the manufacturing of functional foods are expected to grow and be implemented in emerging markets such as Latin America. 1 | INTRODUCTION From all the prickly pears species belonging to the genus Opuntia, O. ficus-indica (L.) Mill. is the most widely consumed culinary species. Mexico is the world's largest prickly pear fruit producer with a yearly production of 470, 231 tons, the largest production states being Mexico, Zacatecas, Puebla and Hidalgo (SAGARPA, 2018). The Vigor variety is the most exported red-skin prickly pear because of its Received: 29 January 2019 Revised: 27 May 2019 Accepted: 30 June 2019 DOI: 10.1111/jfpe.13202 J Food Process Eng. 2020;43:e13202. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jfpe © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1 of 11 https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpe.13202