Abstract
The effect of microwave's radiation on seed viability of three different oilseed crops, spores of Aspergillus niger and quality of extracted oil from treated seeds over various exposure times was evaluated. The seeds were exposed to 2450 MHz. at five different power levels of 0, 100, 200, 400, 600 and 800 W for two exposure times of three and five minutes. At a given time, a direct negative relationship between seed viability and microwave's radiation power level was detected. Substantial variation in the lethality of tested seeds to microwave's power levels was apparent in the fiducial limits of the estimated LD50 values in probit analysis approach. A similar trend of A. niger spores’ susceptibility to microwave radiation was detected. The microwaves' radiation and exposure time did not impact one another and a significant interaction was not detected. Short term fungal infection did not cause substantial quantitative and qualitative damage to the oilseeds. The oil quality was generally unaffected by microwave radiation and fungal infestation for tested oilseeds. Moreover, microwave radiation decreased seed germination percentage and vigor index. The microwave radiation could provide an effective and friendly environmental treatment technique for improving the dietary consumption of the oil in any seed disinfestation program.
Highlights
Microwave's energy is not persistent in the environment and does not have hazardous impacts or damage to a foodstuff (Vadivambal et al, 2007)
The present study revealed that there is a reduction in germination rate of oilseeds after exposure to microwave power (Table 1)
Based on overlapping fiducially limits, three oilseeds tested showed similar susceptibility to microwave radiation; slope of the probit-log dose line reveals that safflower has more natural mortality rate compared to the other oilseeds
Summary
Microwave's energy is not persistent in the environment and does not have hazardous impacts or damage to a foodstuff (Vadivambal et al, 2007). Radiation has been recognized as a cheap, safe and effective technique for food preservation among all existing techniques (Bangash et al, 2007). In this line, Bangash et al (2007) as well as Kumar and Viswanathan (2013) stated that the stability of many edible oils such as canola has been improved by irradiation treatment. Temperature is one of the principal factors delimitating survival and reproduction of fungal spores. Lethal temperatures are those above or below the suboptimum which will eventually kill the organism. Decontamination through temperature manipulation is receiving renewed interest as a non-chemical method with lack of a residue problem (Hallman and Denlinger, 1999)
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