Gamma irradiation and storage effects on quality and safety of Himalayan paprika (Waer)

Abstract

Abstract The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of gamma irradiation treatment (control, 3, 6, 9\xa0kGy) on the changes in capsaicinoids, carotenoids, phenolic acids and microbial load of traditional Himalayan paprika during storage under ambient conditions. HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) results revealed that total capsaicinoids and phenolic acids increased significantly (p\xa0≤\xa00.05) with gamma irradiation and decreased significantly (p\xa0≤\xa00.05) during storage. With storage, dihydrocapsaicin exhibited more decrease (23.3%) compared to capsaicin (21.0%) in 9\xa0kGy irradiated samples. However, carotenoids decreased significantly (p\xa0≤\xa00.05) with respect to both gamma irradiation and storage. Among carotenoids, capsorubin showed less decrease (19.2%) with storage when compared to capsanthin (29.9%), zeaxanthin (28.5%), beta-carotene (29.5%) and beta-cryptoxanthin (29.5%) in 9\xa0kGy irradiated samples. The use of gamma irradiation for microbial decontamination resulted in 2 log reduction in bacterial count and 3 log reduction in yeast and mold count at a dose of 3\xa0kGy. However, in samples irradiated at doses 6\xa0kGy and 9\xa0kGy, no microbial growth was observed up to 9 months of storage. The study elucidates quality and safety retention of irradiated processed paprika, enabling its potential commercial application in food products as a culinary ingredient.