漿果類 (berries) 是我們時常食用的水果之一，它們含有糖和維生素及豐富的植化素 (Phytochemicals)，也已被證實對人類的健康有莫大的益處。近年來由於產業逐漸全球化，加上人們健康意識的提高，所以漿果類的消費量呈現穩定的增加。因漿果類有季節性，通常須經加工處理製成果醬、果汁或果泥保存。傳統熱處理 (如巴氏滅菌) 可有效造成微生物及酵素失活，但熱處理可能破壞熱敏感的物質如多酚類等，因而許多非熱加工技術之應用發展日益備受矚目。其中，非熱電漿已經被證實可應用於蔬果殺菁並有效抑制微生物生長，為進一步瞭解該電漿處理對蔬果營養成份之影響，本研究以藍莓為例，旨在探討比較熱處理方法及電漿處理結果， 對藍莓果皮營養成份的影響。實驗結果顯示，相較於氮氣電漿，氬氣電漿處理可保留較多花青素。而電漿處理時間越久，總酚含量顯著增加，聚合物顏色 (代表花青素聚合物含量) 明顯增強。經氬氣電漿處理的藍莓果皮保留清除DPPH自由基活性之效果較氮氣電漿處理者佳。整體而言，非熱電漿處理對藍莓營養成份之影響可能因電壓、操作時間及使用工作氣體種類而有差異；有別於傳統熱處理結果，對藍莓抗氧化性質的影響並不明顯，值得進一步關注與探討。

Berries are one of the most commonly consumed fruit varieties. They may contain sugars, vitamins and substantial amounts of phytochemicals, which have been proven to be powerful health benefits. Thanks to globalization of the industry and people's awareness of health benefits, the consumption of berries has increased steadily over the past decade. However, because berries are seasonal fruits and they are perishable, they need to be processed to make confitures, jams, juices, etc and preserved. Traditionally, heat treatments (e.g., pasteurization) can effectively inactivate microorganisms and certain enzymes in foods, which may destroy thermosensitive components such as polyphenols. Hence, the development of non-thermal food processing techniques is receiving considerable attention. Of all the non-thermal techniques the non-thermal plasma has proven effective in blanching and microbial inactivation. To further investigate the impacts of the non-thermal plasma on the nutritional quality of the treated fruits, this study takes blueberry as an example and aims to compare the effects of processing via non-thermal plasma vs. thermal pasteurization on the nutritive parameters of blueberry peel extracts. The results indicated that samples treated by argon-plasma retained more anthocyanins following processing than those treated by nitrogen-plasma. Total phenolic contents and polymeric color index (i.e., polymeric anthocyanin content) increased significantly with increased treatment time. The argon-plasma-treated samples exhibited greater DPPH free radical-scavenging activity compared to the nitrogen-plasma-treated samples. Overall, the influences of the non-thermal plasma on the nutritional quality of blueberry might vary according to the parameters of plasma devices, such as voltage, treatment time and the type of gas that is used. And unlike traditional thermal processing, the non-thermal plasma treatment didn’t affect significantly the antioxidant capacities, which deserves more attention and further investigation.