Effect of dose rate of gamma irradiation on biochemical quality and browning of mushrooms Agaricus bisporus

In order to enhance the shelf-life of edible mature mushrooms Agaricus bisporus, 2kGy ionising treatments were applied at two different dose rates: 4.5 kGy/h (I-) and 32 kGy/h (I+). Both I+ and I- showed 2 and 4 days shelf-life enhancement compared to the control (C). Before day 9, no significant difference (p > 0.05) in L* value was detected in irradiated mushrooms. However, after day 9, the highest observed L* value (whiteness) was obtained for the mushrooms irradiated in I-. Analyses of phenolic compounds revealed that mushrooms in I- contained more phenols than I+ and C, the latter containing the lower level of phenols. The polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities of irradiated mushrooms, analysed via catechol oxidase and dopa oxidase substrates, resulted in being significantly lowered (p less than or equal to 0.05) compared to C, with a further decrease in I+. Analyses of the enzymes indicated that PPO activity was lower in I+, contrasting with its lower phenol concentration. Ionising treatments also increased significantly (p less than or equal to 0.05) the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity. The observation of mushrooms cellular membranes, by electronic microscopy, revealed a better preserved integrity in I- than in I+. It is thus assumed that the browning effect observed in I+ was caused by both the decompartimentation of vacuolar phenol and by the entry of molecular oxygen into the cell cytoplasm. The synergetic effect of the residual active PPO and the molecular oxygen, in contact with the phenols, allowed an increased oxidation rate and, therefore, a more pronounced browning in I+ than in I-. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.