High pressure processing (HPP) is the most widespread nonthermal food pasteurization technology. The stability during HPP treatments of chemical compounds with health-enhancing properties found in plants has been intensively studied. A rising research interest is the elucidation of the mechanisms by which HPP may enhance their biosynthesis and bioavailability. Pressure levels under 100 MPa appear to induce oxidative stress in plant tissue leading to the activation of metabolic pathways related to the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Likewise, treatments at ∼150–200 MPa result in cellular membrane rupture, increased cell wall permeability, and nearly complete cell viability loss while metabolic activity gradually ceases at higher pressure. Major structural changes occur during treatments at higher pressure levels influencing the bioavailability of phytochemicals. Carotenoids attached to polymeric structures on cell walls, or entrapped inside cellular organelles, are released into the media by pressure treatments at 200–400 MPa, which may also initiate their degradation. Depending on the food matrix, phenolic compounds and vitamin C are released, degraded, or remain unaffected by 200–600 MPa treatments. At high pressure, phenolics are highly susceptible to oxidation and enzymatic reactions, whereas ascorbic acid stability depends largely on the dissolved oxygen concentration. Future work should focus on pressure come-up time (CUT) effects, development of kinetic models coupling the biosynthesis and/or release of phytochemicals with its pressure-temperature stability, and determinations of their in vitro and in vivo bioavailability.

高压加工（HPP）是最广泛的非热食品巴氏灭菌技术。对植物中发现的具有增强健康特性的化合物进行HPP处理期间的稳定性已得到深入研究。越来越多的研究兴趣是阐明HPP可以增强其生物合成和生物利用度的机制。低于100 MPa的压力水平似乎会诱导植物组织中的氧化应激，从而导致与次生代谢产物生物合成相关的代谢途径被激活。同样，在约150–200 MPa的压力下处理会导致细胞膜破裂，细胞壁通透性增加和几乎完全丧失细胞活力，而新陈代谢活动在较高压力下会逐渐停止。在较高压力下的处理过程中会发生重大的结构变化，从而影响植物化学物质的生物利用度。类胡萝卜素附着在细胞壁上的聚合物结构上，或截留在细胞器内部，通过200-400 MPa的压力处理释放到培养基中，这也可能引发它们的降解。取决于食物基质，酚类化合物和维生素C在200–600 MPa的处理下会释放，降解或保持不变。在高压下，酚类非常容易发生氧化和酶促反应，而抗坏血酸的稳定性在很大程度上取决于溶解氧的浓度。未来的工作应集中在压力上升时间（CUT）的影响，动力学模型的开发上，该模型将生物化学物质的生物合成和/或释放与其压力-温度稳定性相结合，