Abstract
This study was carried out to investigate the effect of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and soaking time on vitamin C, carotenoid, antioxidant activity and total phenolic content for optimizing the pre-treatment for minimal processing of bitter melon slices and to evaluate its shelf life at different storage conditions. Fresh-cut bitter melon slices were given post-cutting treatment of wash solution containing NaClO(25-500ppm) and H2O2 (1-5%) solution for different time intervals (10-120 minutes). The treated samples were analyzed for Vitamin C content, carotenoid, DPPH inhibition activity, ABTS inhibition activity and total phenolic content (TPC) using Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD). The optimum condition for soaking achieved by CCRD was NaClO (25 ppm), H2O2 (1%) and soaking time (56.32 min). The minimally processed bitter melon at optimized wash water treatment was packed in LDPE pouch of 0.1 mm thickness and were evaluated for shelf-life under modified atmospheric packaging, MAP 1 (5% O2, 25% CO2 & 70% N2) and MAP 2(10% O2, 20% CO2 & 70% N2) stored at temperature of 5, 20 and 35°C, respectively. Based on the microbiological, colour and textural analysis, MAP 1 was found to be better compared to MAP 2 and the shelf-life of fresh-cut bitter melon slices was prolonged up to twenty-eight days of storage.
Highlights
Bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.), a member of Cucurbitaceae family is variously known as bitter gourd, bitter squash, balsam pear, karalla, African cucumber and bitter cucumber
The minimally processed bitter melon slices at optimized pre - treatment were weighed in 50 g and packaged in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) pouches of 0.1 mm thickness, one set with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) 1 (5% O2, 25% CO2 & 70% N2) and the other set with MAP 2 (10% O2, 20% CO2 & 70% N2) using modified atmospheric packaging machine (Induac Saurabh Engineers, INDIA)
The optimum condition obtained was further carried for minimal processing of bitter melon followed by MAP packaging and shelf life evaluation
Summary
Bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.), a member of Cucurbitaceae family is variously known as bitter gourd, bitter squash, balsam pear, karalla, African cucumber and bitter cucumber It has twice the calcium and potassium content with respect to spinach and banana, respectively. The washing of fresh-cut products with chlorinated water (50-200 mgL−1 of active chlorine) reduces the levels of various pathogenic microorganisms For this purpose, sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) is most widely used as a sanitizer in the fresh-cut industry.[2] In addition to this, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which is highly oxidative in nature due to the release of O2 in aqueous solutions, has antimicrobial activity both against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.[3] H2O2 in the range of 1-5% is used as a sanitizer for food contact surfaces as well as for packaging materials in aseptic filling operations. The antimicrobial efficiency of 4-5% H2O2 is comparable to 100-200 ppm of chlorine treatment.[4]
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