Red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus, red pulp with pink peel), also known as dragon fruit, is a well-known species of pitaya fruit. Pitaya seeds and peels have been reported to exhibit higher concentrations of total polyphenols, beta-cyanins and amino acid than pulp, while anthocyanins (i.e., cyanidin 3-glucoside, delphinidin 3-glucoside and pelargonidin 3-glucoside) were only detected in the pulp extracts. Beta-cyanins, phenolics and flavonoids were found to increase gradually during fruit maturation and pigmentation appeared earlier in the pulp than peel. The phytochemicals were extracted and purified by various techniques and broadly used as natural, low-cost, and beneficial healthy compounds in foods, including bakery, wine, dairy, meat and confectionery products. These bioactive components also exhibit regulative influences on the human gut microbiota, glycaemic response, lipid accumulation, inflammation, growth of microbials and mutagenicity, but the mechanisms are yet to be understood. The objective of this study was to systematically summarise the effect of red pitaya’s maturation process on the nutritional profile and techno-functionality in a variety of food products. The findings of this review provide valuable suggestions for the red pitaya fruit processing industry, leading to novel formulations supported by molecular research.

This study evaluated the physical parameters, polyphenol profile and antioxidant activity before and after the in vitro digestion of red pitaya powder‐enriched oat‐wheat bread compared to plain wheat bread, oat‐wheat bread and red pitaya powder. The enrichment of red pitaya powder significantly increased the polyphenol, mineral contents, insoluble dietary fibre, firmness and moisture content of oat‐wheat bread compared to wheat bread, while contributed to a minor reduction in bread volume and dough extensibility due to gluten dilution. The oat‐wheat bread was found to have the lowest predicted glycaemic response, but 5%, 10% and 15% red pitaya powder formulated oat‐wheat bread showed a significantly lower glycaemic response than plain wheat bread as well as red pitaya powder.

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