title: Irradiation Maintains Functional Components of Dry Hot Peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) under Ambient Storage.
abstract: Hot peppers used as natural flavoring and coloring agents are usually irradiated in prepacked form for decontamination. The effects of gamma radiation on the stability of functional components such as capsaicinoids and antioxidant compounds (carotenoids, ascorbic acid and total phenolics) were investigated in hot peppers (Capsicum annuum). Whole dried peppers packed in polyethylene bags were gamma irradiated at 0 (control), 2, 4, and 6 kGy and subsequently stored at 25 °C for 90 days. The irradiation dose did not substantially affect the initial contents of capsaicinoids, ascorbic acid and total phenolics, though the concentration of carotenoids declined by 8% from the control (76.9 mg/100 g) to 6 kGy radiation dose (70.7 mg/100 g). Similarly, during storage for 90 days at ambient temperature the concentrations of capsaicinoids and total phenolics remained fairly stable with mean percent reductions from 3.3% to 4.2%, while the levels of total carotenoids and ascorbic acid significantly (p< 0.05) declined by 12% and 14%, respectively. Overall, neither irradiation nor subsequent ambient storage could appreciably influence the contents of functional components in hot peppers. These results revealed that gamma irradiation up to 6 kGy can be safely used for decontamination to meet the needs for overseas markets without compromising product quality.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan. qumerhort@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Qumer
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.affiliation: Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan. amjaduaf@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amjad
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan. asimuhammad@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Muhammad Rafique
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Asi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60000, Pakistan. aamirkhan_74@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Aamir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nawaz
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60000, Pakistan. drsamiyakhan@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Samiya Mahmood
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Veterinary Faculty, Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain. aarino@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Agustin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ariño
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan 32200, Pakistan. horticulture.tanveer@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tanveer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ahmad
keywords: antioxidants; capsaicinoids; gamma radiation; hot pepper; quality; storage