Anthocyanins are flavonoid pigments broadly distributed in plants with great potential to be used as food colorants due to their range of colors, innocuous nature, and positive impact on human health. However, these molecules are unstable and affected by pH changes, oxidation and high temperatures, making it very important to extract them using gentle non-thermal technologies. The use of emerging non-thermal techniques such as High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP), Ultra High Pressure Homogenization (UHPH), Pulsed Electric Fields (PEFs), Ultrasound (US), irradiation, and Pulsed Light (PL) is currently increasing for many applications in food technology. This article reviews their application, features, advantages and drawbacks in the extraction of anthocyanins from grapes. It shows how extraction can be significantly increased with many of these techniques, while decreasing extraction times and maintaining antioxidant capacity.
Keywords: HHP; PEFs; UHPH; US; anthocyanins; grapes; irradiation; non-thermal technologies; wine.