Protection of Stored Spices Using Ionizing Radiation and Biocides Having Antimicrobial Activity

The purpose of this study is to improve the quality of cumin and anise seeds and increase the storage period by using gamma irradiation and biocides. Irradiated seeds with different doses of gamma rays (0.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0 and 16.0 kGy) and storage for 12 months were carried out in order to improve its quality. Irradiated and un-irradiated anise seeds were stored for 4, 8 and 12 months and tested for their microbial population. In addition, the chemical constituents (moisture, volatile oils, crude lipids and sugars) were evaluated. The imposed irradiation doses showed a promising effect to decontaminate the microbial load , which in turn showed prolong the storage periods. Volatile oil content was relatively declined during storage. In addition, some alternations were happened regarding the essential oils constituents. However, the applied irradiation doses maintained the volatile oil content and retained its constituents near to the normal control. Total lipids content were not influenced by either the applied storage periods or the used gamma irradiation doses. Sugars content were increased in the stored and un-irradiated seeds. however, the exposure to gamma radiation reduced this increase and retained sugars content near to the normal level of the control seeds. Generally, the application of biocides in combination with gamma radiation maximized the chemical constituents of seeds during storage