Abstract
In the present research, the effects of different durations (0, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 sec) of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma on decontaminating Aspergillus flavus, detoxifying pure aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), and the quality attributes of pistachio nuts (total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, chlorophylls, total carotenoids, instrumental color, total soluble protein, and malondialdehyde determination) were studied. The results showed that the viable spore population reduced with the increase of plasma treatment duration, so that after 180 s of the treatment, a decrease by 4 logs was observed in the spore population. Chlorophyll a and b, as well as total carotenoid levels and color parameters, decreased, which led to darker pistachio samples and intensity reduction in soluble protein content and protein bands. Plasma treatment did not alter the total phenolic content but slightly increased the antioxidant activity of pistachio nuts samples. The malondialdehyde values significantly increased all the plasma treatment durations. The maximum reduction of AFB1 was observed after 180 s of the treatment, which was 64.63% and 52.42% for glass slides and pistachio nut samples, respectively. The present findings demonstrated that cold plasma could be used as an efficient decontamination method of food products without inducing undesirable quality changes in nuts.
Highlights
Pistachio nut (Pistacia vera L.) is a member of Anacardiaceae family and is the most famous tree nuts in the world
As the plasma treatment duration raised to 180 s, a 4 log (CFU/g) reduction in spore population was observed, and no detectable spore was found after plating the plasma-treated sample at the treatment duration of 180 s (Figures 2(a) and 2(b))
Color parameters were affected by the plasma treatment, and plasma treatment led to darker pistachio nuts
Summary
Pistachio nut (Pistacia vera L.) is a member of Anacardiaceae family and is the most famous tree nuts in the world. USA, Turkey, China, Syria, Greece, and Italy are the main pistachio-growing countries [1, 2]. Pistachio is the most important nonpetroleum export commodity that plays a vital role in the economy of Iran [3]. Iran is the first and biggest producer and exporter of pistachio nuts in the world. It produced 337,815 tons and exported 78,547 tons in 2019. E total export revenue from pistachio nuts was about half a billion dollars in that year [1]. It produced 337,815 tons and exported 78,547 tons in 2019. e total export revenue from pistachio nuts was about half a billion dollars in that year [1]. is valuable commodity is highly susceptible to contamination by one of the most prevalent aflatoxin producing fungi Aspergillus flavus during preharvest and postharvest stages, which leads to reduction in quality and nutritional value; it causes economic losses to the producing countries [4, 5]
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