Radiation Effects on Essential Minerals Content of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

Food irradiation is one of the most popular preservation techniques used world-wide. In case of fresh fruits and vegetables it helps to make the product safe and extend the shelf-life without raising the temperature of the foodstuffs and with a minimal change in taste, texture and nutritional composition. In case of cucumber pickling is the traditional approach of preservation but irradiation can also be used industrially to fulfill the similar principle. This study is an attempt on that direction and was performed to observe the effects of radiation on essential minerals content of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus). Cobalt-60 is used as a radiation source in this experiment which is the most commonly used radionuclide for food irradiation. Results of this study indicate that the essential minerals content of Cucumber is sensitive to different doses of irradiation. This study also suggests that treatment with gamma radiation is negatively correlated but surprisingly positive correlations were also noticed in some cases.

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