Open AccessDecontamination of peppermint distillate using spark plasma: microbiological and physicochemical evaluation
Author(s) -
N. Navab Safa,
Naghme Dorraki,
MohammadTaghi Ebadi,
Alireza Maroofi,
Alireza Ghasempour,
Hamid Ghomi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of food science and technology/journal of food science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.656
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 0975-8402
pISSN - 0022-1155
DOI - 10.1007/s13197-020-04364-y
Subject(s) - distillation , menthol , human decontamination , chemistry , pulp and paper industry , food science , chromatography , organic chemistry , waste management , engineering
Microbial contamination of herbal distillates is one of the crucial problems that the market is commonly facing. Spark plasma can be proposed as a potential emerging solution for the decontamination of liquids even with the sensitive aromatic compound like peppermint ( Mentha piperita L.) distillate. However, its probable effects on the physicochemical properties of distillate is the main area of concern which will be discussed in the current paper. According to our results, spark plasma with an energy of 2 J/pulse is able to achieve a 4-log reduction in Pseudomonas aeruginosa counts after 4 min of treatment. Various assessments including pH analysis, color measurement, evaluation of essential oil content and composition are employed to determine the likely side effects of the method on the final product. The results show that the plasma processing does not make any sensible changes in the peppermint distillate acidity and color. According to the results, the peppermint essential oil content decreases only about 4% in the samples affected by the plasma, however, content of menthol as the main compound of peppermint distillate reduces about 17%.