Premium
Microbial Decontamination of Tea ( Camellia sinensis ) by Gamma Radiation
Author(s) -
Mishra B.B.,
Gautam S.,
Sharma A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00057.x
Subject(s) - food science , chemistry , camellia sinensis , lipid peroxidation , antioxidant , polyphenol , antimicrobial , nitrite , human decontamination , polyphenol oxidase , botany , biochemistry , biology , peroxidase , physics , enzyme , organic chemistry , nuclear physics , nitrate
Processed dry tea leaves are prone to microbial contamination during post‐processing handling and storage. The dry tea leaves may thus carry bacteria and fungi of potential health risk to consumers. Also, during storage under high humidity, absorption of moisture may encourage fungal growth and result in caking of the product. Gamma radiation processing was tried as a method for microbial decontamination. A radiation dose of 5 kGy was found to be effective for this purpose. No significant effect was observed on total phenolics in radiation‐processed tea leaves. The antioxidant and biological properties of tea such as free radical scavenging activity, inhibition of xanthine oxidase and lipid peroxidation, and superoxide and nitrite scavenging activities were not affected due to radiation treatment within a dose of 10 kGy. The antimicrobial and sensory properties were also unaffected by the radiation treatment.