Fermented orange juice: source of higher carotenoid and flavanone contents.

The intake of bioactive compounds and moderate alcohol decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. These effects could be joined in a beverage created by a controlled alcoholic fermentation of orange juice. The influence of controlled alcoholic fermentation on the bioactive compound profile of orange juice has not been previously evaluated, and this is the purpose of the present study. Total and individual flavanones and carotenoids significantly increased throughout the fermentation. The reason for this was an enhanced extraction of these compounds from the pulp. Besides, the potential bioavailability of flavanones increased due to a higher content of hesperetin-7-O-glucoside (2-fold higher at the end of the fermentation process). Ascorbic acid did not undergo a significant change, and only total phenolics decreased. Antioxidant capacity was also evaluated. TEAC and FRAP values remained constant throughout the process. However, ORAC and DPPH values significantly increased. Correlation analysis concluded that the increase in ORAC and DPPH values could be due to enhancement of flavanones.