Abstract
Food irradiation is a treatment that involves subjecting in-bulk or packaged food to a controlled dose of ionizing radiation, with a clearly defined goal. It has been used for disinfestation and sanitization of food commodities and to retard postharvest ripening and senescence processes, being a sustainable alternative to chemical agents 1 . Doses up to 10 kGy are approved by several international authorities for not offering negative effects to food from a nutrition and toxicology point of view 2 . However, the adoption of this technology for food applications has been a slow process due to some misunderstandings by the consumer who often chooses non-irradiated foods. In this study, the effects of the ionizing radiation treatment on physical, chemical and bioactive properties of dried herbs and its suitability for preserving quality attributes of fresh vegetables during cold storage were evaluated. The studied herbs, perennial spotted rockrose (Tuberaria lignosa (Sweet) Samp.) and common mallow (Malva neglecta Wallr.) were freeze-dried and then irradiated up to 10 kGy in a Cobalt-60 chamber. The selected vegetables, watercress (Nasturtium officinale R. Br.) and buckler sorrel (Rumex induratus Boiss. Reut.) were rinsed in tap water, packaged in polyethylene bags, submitted to irradiation doses up to 6 kGy and then were stored at 4 C for a period of up to 12 days. Physical, chemical and bioactive parameters of irradiated and non-irradiated samples were evaluated using different methodologies the colour was measured with a colorimeter, individual chemical compounds were analyzed by chromatographic techniques, antioxidant properties were evaluated using in vitro assays based on different reaction mechanisms, and other quality analyses were performed following official methods of analysis. The irradiation treatment did not significantly affect the colour of the perennial spotted rockrose samples, or its phenolic composition and antioxidant activity 3 . Medium doses preserved the colour of common mallow and a low dose did not induce any adverse effect in the organic acids profile. The green colour of the irradiated vegetables was maintained during cold storage but the treatment had pros and cons in other quality attributes. The 2 kGy dose preserved free sugars and favoured polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) while the 5 kGy dose favoured tocopherols and preserved the antioxidant properties in watercress samples. The 6 kGy dose was a suitable option for preserving PUFA and the ω-6 ω-3 fatty acids ratio in buckler sorrel samples. This comprehensive experimental work allowed selecting appropriate processing doses for the studied plant foods in order to preserve its quality attributes and edibility.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Irradiation did not significantly affect spotted rockrose colour, phenolic composition or antioxidant activity.
- Taxon
- perennial spotted rockrosee0
- Treatment
- irradiation treatmente0
- Outcome
- colour of the perennial spotted rockrose samples, or its phenolic composition and antioxidant activitye0
- Direction
- did not significantly affecte0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“The irradiation treatment did not significantly affect the colour of the perennial spotted rockrose samples, or its phenolic composition and antioxidant activity 3”
Claim · model-written summary
Medium irradiation doses preserved common mallow colour.
- Taxon
- common mallow
Malva neglectae0 - Treatment
- Medium dosese0
- Outcome
- coloure0
- Direction
- preservede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Medium doses preserved the colour of common mallow”
Claim · model-written summary
A low irradiation dose caused no adverse effect in common mallow organic acid profile.
- Taxon
- common mallowMalva neglectae1
- Treatment
- a low dosee0
- Outcome
- organic acids profilee0
- Direction
- did not induce any adverse effecte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a low dose did not induce any adverse effect in the organic acids profile”
e1“colour of common mallow and a low dose did not induce any adverse effect”
Claim · model-written summary
Irradiated vegetable green colour was maintained during cold storage.
Verbatim
e0“The green colour of the irradiated vegetables was maintained during cold storage”
Claim · model-written summary
The 2 kGy dose preserved free sugars in watercress.
- Taxon
- watercress
Nasturtium officinalee0 - Treatment
- 2 kGy dosee0
- Outcome
- free sugarse0
- Direction
- preservede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The 2 kGy dose preserved free sugars and favoured polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) while the 5 kGy dose favoured tocopherols and preserved the antioxidant properties in watercress samples”
Claim · model-written summary
The 2 kGy dose favoured polyunsaturated fatty acids in watercress.
- Taxon
- watercressNasturtium officinalee0
- Treatment
- 2 kGy dosee0
- Outcome
- polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)e0
- Direction
- favourede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The 2 kGy dose preserved free sugars and favoured polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) while the 5 kGy dose favoured tocopherols and preserved the antioxidant properties in watercress samples”
Claim · model-written summary
The 5 kGy dose favoured tocopherols in watercress.
- Taxon
- watercressNasturtium officinalee0
- Treatment
- 5 kGy dosee0
- Outcome
- tocopherolse0
- Direction
- favourede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the 5 kGy dose favoured tocopherols and preserved the antioxidant properties in watercress samples”
Claim · model-written summary
The 5 kGy dose preserved antioxidant properties in watercress.
- Taxon
- watercressNasturtium officinalee0
- Treatment
- 5 kGy dosee0
- Outcome
- antioxidant propertiese0
- Direction
- preservede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the 5 kGy dose favoured tocopherols and preserved the antioxidant properties in watercress samples”
Claim · model-written summary
The 6 kGy dose preserved polyunsaturated fatty acids in buckler sorrel.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“The 6 kGy dose was a suitable option for preserving PUFA and the ω-6 ω-3 fatty acids ratio in buckler sorrel samples”
Claim · model-written summary
The 6 kGy dose preserved the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio in buckler sorrel.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“The 6 kGy dose was a suitable option for preserving PUFA and the ω-6 ω-3 fatty acids ratio in buckler sorrel samples”