Evaluation of Photon Interaction Parameters of Some Antioxidants for Food Irradiation Applications

Arzu Kavaz Yüksel; Hesham M H Zakaly; Antoaneta Ene

doi:10.3390/ma15186376

Evaluation of Photon Interaction Parameters of Some Antioxidants for Food Irradiation Applications

Materials (Basel). 2022 Sep 14;15(18):6376. doi: 10.3390/ma15186376.

Authors

Arzu Kavaz Yüksel¹, Hesham M H Zakaly^{2

3}, Antoaneta Ene⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Technology, Technical Sciences Vocational School, Atatürk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey.
² Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut Branch, Assiut 71524, Egypt.
³ Institute of Physics and Technology, Ural Federal University, 620002 Yekaterinburg, Russia.
⁴ INPOLDE Research Center, Department of Chemistry, Physics and Environment, Faculty of Sciences and Environment, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, 47 Domneasca Street, 800008 Galati, Romania.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the interaction parameters of antioxidant molecules in some spices and vegetables with gamma radiation. At first, mass attenuation coefficients (MACs, cm²/g) of gingerol, rosmarinic acid, quercetin, curcumin, eugenol, piperine, allicin, and capsaicin molecules were determined at the photon energies (13-1332 keV) emitted from the radioactive isotopes Am-241, Ba-133, Co-60, and Cs-137 with the help of the EpiXS and WinXCOM programs. The smallest and largest MAC values were found as 1.20 and 8.48 cm²/g at 13 keV and 0.059 and 0.058 cm²/g at 1332 keV for eugenol and allicin, respectively. It was observed that both results support each other. Using the MAC values, the effective atomic number and electron density (Z_eff and N_eff) values of the molecules were derived. The Z_eff values for gingerol and allicin were obtained in the range of 5.79-3.40 and 13.85-4.53, respectively. The variation of the buildup factors of antioxidants in the range of 0.015-15 MeV depending on the chemical composition and penetration depth were also examined. It was noticed that the photon accumulation was the lowest in allicin and the highest in gingerol and eugenol. The results obtained from this study will make an essential contribution to dose calculations in food irradiation studies.

Keywords: antioxidant; food irradiation; gamma radiation.

Grants and funding

The APC was funded by the “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, Romania, through grant no. 17094, financed by the project “CEREX UDJG 2022”, contract no. CNFIS-FDI-2022-0205.