Therefore, the main objective of this doctoral research was to gain deeper insight in the characteristics of dragon fruit and its derived products and components, specifically of two species of dragon fruit, i.e. white-flesh dragon fruit (H. undatus) and red-flesh dragon fruit (H. polyrhizus). The characteristics of these two species of dragon fruit and their possible application are extensively discussed in the doctoral thesis/research. Chapter 1 provides a state-of-the-art of current and relevant research on dragon fruit with respect to botanical classification, cultivation, economic aspects and chemical composition (particularly nutrients, pigment and antioxidative components) as well as an overview of techniques to process fruits (processing), i.e. freeze-drying and thermal processing