Decontamination of chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa L.) by cold plasma treatment and its effects on biochemical composition and storage quality of their corresponding juices

• Published in: Food science and biotechnology Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 405 - 411
• Main Authors: Park, Yeon-jae, Puligundla, Pradeep, Mok, Chulkyoon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 01.03.2021; Springer Nature B.V; 한국식품과학회
• Subjects: Aerobic bacteria; Anthocyanins; Aronia melanocarpa; Berries; Biochemical composition; biotechnology; brix; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Cold plasmas; Cold treatment; Composition effects; Contaminants; Decontamination; Food Science; Fruits; Juices; kinetics; microbiological quality; nonthermal processing; Nutrition; pH effects; Plasma jets; Polyphenols; Research Article; Scavenging; storage quality; Yeast; yeasts; 식품과학; Polyphenols; Microbial contaminants; Chokeberry; Kinetics; Inactivation; Corona discharge plasma
• ISSN: 1226-7708; 2092-6456; 2092-6456
• DOI: 10.1007/s10068-020-00867-8

To improve the microbiological quality of chokeberries, corona discharge plasma jet (CDPJ) was employed as a decontaminating agent. The mean levels of aerobic bacteria and yeast and molds contaminants in chokeberries were 4.78 and 4.87 log CFU/g, respectively; the viable counts were decreased by 2.09 and 1.83 log units following CDPJ treatment for 3 min, respectively. A first-order kinetic model was well-suited for explaining the inactivations. The concentration of total polyphenols of chokeberries was unaffected (up to 3 min treatment), whereas DPPH radical scavenging activity was significantly decreased by CDPJ treatment (2 min and more). CDPJ treatment (all tested times) of chokeberries led to a significant decrease of monomeric anthocyanin content of their corresponding juices, whereas soluble solids content (Brix) and pH were unaffected. After storage at 4 °C for 72 h, juices obtained from CDPJ-treated berries possessed relatively low levels of contaminants with no significant alterations in pH and soluble solids content when compared with controls. In conclusion, CDPJ treatment for 2 min was optimal to improve the microbiological quality of the berries without negatively affecting biochemical qualities of their corresponding juices.