The paper aims at investigating the potential application of non-thermal innovative technologies, such as
high hydrostatic pressure, for the sanitization of functional liquid foodstuffs. A 100% pomegranate juice
was selected for the experiments, due to its high bioactive compounds content. The operating pressure,
temperature and holding times at the pressure set point were changed over a wide range, with the aim of
optimizing the processing condition in order to assure the microbiological stability of the processed juice
as well as preserve the natural content of the functional compounds. The experiments clearly demonstrate
that the high pressure treatment at room temperature improves the quality of pomegranate juice,
increasing the intensity of red color of the fresh juice and preserving the content of natural anthocyanins.
The residual activity of some enzymes at the end of high pressure processing, independently on the processing
conditions, such as the polyphenoloxidase (PPO), causes the degradation of the nutraceutical
compounds as observed in particular processing conditions, thus suggesting that the optimal combination
of the processing parameters should take into account the degradation of the anthocyanins as well
as the enzymatic activity.