Chiranjib Bandyopadhyay

Blackening in green pepper berries

Abstract The blackening of fresh green pepper (Piper nigrum) berries was found to be due to the enzyme—catalysed oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxy phenylethanol glycoside by an o-diphenol oxidase present in the fruit. The enzyme was also found to be active towards the aglycone of 3,4-dihydroxy phenylethanol glycoside.

Effect of τ-irradiation on the volatile oil constituents of some Indian spices

The volatile essential oils of commercial samples of clove, cardamom and nutmeg gamma-irradiated at 10 KGy for microbial decontamination were isolated by simultaneous distillation-extraction technique and then analysed by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) along with their nonirradiated counterparts. No qualitative and major quantitative changes were observed in the essential oil constituents of irradiated clove and cardamom. However in case of iradiated nutmeg a 6-fold increase in the content of myristicin accompanied by a decrease of similar magnitude in elimicin content was noted. The possible impact of such changes on the sensory properties of nutmeg is discussed.