Persimmon juice is emerging in the global juice market as a new wholesome commercial juice that could
effectively complement a healthy diet, given the epidemiological evidence linking a diet rich in fruits and
vegetables with reduced incidences of chronic diseases. However, little data are available on the persimmon-juice
composition or on the effect of the technological treatment employed for its production. The
present work performs a complete qualitative analytical characterization through high-performance liquid
chromatography coupled to electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC–DAD–ESI-TOF/MS)
of the diverse persimmon juices produced under different technologies in a pilot plant (clarification,
astringency removal, flash vacuum expansion, centrifugation and pasteurization) in order to evaluate
the effect of the different production procedures on the polar chemical profile of persimmon juice.
Persimmon-juice extracts have been found to be a source of sugars, protein derivatives, organic acids,
vitamins, and polyphenols, including simple polyphenols (phenolic acids and flavonoids) and polymerized
flavan-3-ols. A marked influence of processing on the composition of the juices has been noticed.
Extracts 3 and 7 (undergoing the combinations of clarification and centrifugation, and astringency
removal, centrifugation and pasteurization, respectively) contained more polyphenols, which may help
reduce risk of chronic diseases.