Ultraviolet-C irradiation maintaining texture and total sugars content of ready to cook baby corn during commercial storage

Nan Theint Ngu Lwin; Suriyan Supapvanich; Surassawadee Promyou

doi:10.1007/s10068-020-00854-z

Ultraviolet-C irradiation maintaining texture and total sugars content of ready to cook baby corn during commercial storage

Food Sci Biotechnol. 2021 Jan 7;30(1):47-54. doi: 10.1007/s10068-020-00854-z. eCollection 2021 Jan.

Authors

Nan Theint Ngu Lwin¹, Suriyan Supapvanich², Surassawadee Promyou¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Natural Resources and Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, Chalermphrakiat Sakonnakhon Province Campus, Sakonnakhon, 47000 Thailand.
² Department of Agricultural Education, Faculty of Industrial Education and Technology, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Ladkrabang, Bangkok, 10520 Thailand.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation on the changes in total sugars concentration and texture of ready to cook baby corn during cold storage. The baby corns were irradiated with UV-C at the dose of 0 (control), 2.2, 4.4 and 6.6 kJ m^-2 and then stored at 5 ± 1 °C for 7 days. The results showed that the losses of total sugars were delayed by UV-C irradiation treatments. All the UV-C treatments significantly maintained the firmness of the treated baby corn samples and prevented the increase in electrolyte leakage, especially at 4.4 kJ m^-2. Compared to control sample, the 4.4 kJ m^-2 UV-C irradiated baby corn retarded the depolymerisation of pectin substances by suppressing the polygalacturonase and pectin methyl esterase activities. Therefore, the dose of 4.4 kJ m^-2 could be a feasible alternative UV-C treatment maintaining texture and the total sugar concentration of ready to cook baby corn during commercial storage.

Keywords: Baby corn; Cell wall; Pectin; Texture; Ultraviolet-C.