Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
J Food Prot. 2012 Aug;75(8):1528-31. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-12-064.
The effect of gamma radiation on moisture content, total mold counts, Aspergillus counts, and aflatoxins of three hot pepper hybrids (Sky Red, Maha, and Wonder King) was investigated. Whole dried peppers packed in polyethylene bags were gamma irradiated at 0 (control), 2, 4, and 6 kGy and stored at 25°C for 90 days. Gamma radiation proved to be effective in reducing total mold and Aspergillus counts in a dose-dependent relationship. Total mold counts in irradiated peppers immediately after treatments were significantly lowered compared with those in nonirradiated samples, achieving 90 and 99% reduction at 2- and 4-kGy doses, respectively. Aspergillus counts were significantly reduced, by 93 and 97%, immediately after irradiation at doses of 2 and 4 kGy, respectively. A radiation dose of 6 kGy completely eliminated the population of total molds and Aspergillus fungi. The evolution of total molds in control and irradiated samples indicated no further fungal proliferation during 3 months of storage at 25°C. Aflatoxin levels were slightly affected by radiation doses of 2 and 4 kGy and showed a nonsignificant reduction of 6% at the highest radiation dose of 6 kGy. The distinct effectiveness of gamma radiation in molds and aflatoxins can be explained by the target theory of food irradiation, which states that the likelihood of a microorganism or a molecule being inactivated by gamma rays increases as its size increases.
研究了γ射线对三种辣椒杂交品种（Sky Red、Maha 和 Wonder King）的水分含量、总霉菌数、曲霉数和黄曲霉毒素的影响。整颗干辣椒用聚乙烯袋包装，在 0（对照）、2、4 和 6 kGy 下进行γ辐照，并在 25°C 下储存 90 天。γ射线在剂量依赖的关系中被证明能有效降低总霉菌和曲霉计数。辐照处理后辣椒中的总霉菌计数立即显著降低，与未经辐照的样品相比，分别在 2 和 4 kGy 剂量下降低了 90%和 99%。曲霉计数在 2 和 4 kGy 的辐照剂量下分别降低了 93%和 97%。6 kGy 的辐射剂量完全消除了总霉菌和曲霉真菌的种群。在 25°C 下储存 3 个月期间，对照和辐照样品中的总霉菌的演变表明没有进一步的真菌增殖。2 和 4 kGy 的辐射剂量对黄曲霉毒素水平的影响较小，在最高辐射剂量 6 kGy 下，黄曲霉毒素的含量降低了 6%，但没有显著差异。γ射线对霉菌和黄曲霉毒素的明显效果可以用食品辐照的靶标理论来解释，该理论指出，微生物或分子被γ射线失活的可能性随着其大小的增加而增加。
