ARTICLE IN PRESS

Radiation Physics and Chemistry 75 (2006) 596603

www.elsevier.com/locate/radphyschem

Effect of gamma irradiation on microbial decontamination,

and chemical and sensory characteristic of lycium fruit
Hsiao-Wei Wena, Hsiao-Ping Chungb, Fong-In Choub,,
I-hsin Linc, Po-Chow Hsiehc
a
Department of Food Science and Technology, Cornell University, Geneva, NY 14456, USA
b
Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC
c
Committee on Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, ROC

Received 17 June 2005; accepted 4 December 2005

Abstract

Lycium fruit, popular traditional Chinese medicine and food supplement generally is ingested uncooked, was exposed
to several doses of gamma irradiation (014 kGy) to evaluate decontamination efciency, changes in chemical
composition, and changes in sensory characteristic. In this study, lycium fruit specimens contained microbial counts of
3.1
1031.7
105 CFU/g and 14 kGy was sufcient for microbial decontamination. Before irradiation, the main
microbe isolated from lycium fruit was identied as a strain of yeast, Cryptococcus laurentii. After 10 kGy of irradiation,
a Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium, Bacillus cereus, was the only survivor. The rst 90% reduction (LD90) of
C. laurentii and B. cereus was approximately 0.6 and 6.5 kGy, respectively, the D10 doses of C. laurentii and B. cereus
was approximately 0.6 and 1.7 kGy, respectively. After 14 kGy irradiation, except the vitamin C content, other chemical
composition (e.g., crude protein, b-carotene, riboavin, fructose, etc.) and the sensory characteristic of lycium fruit
specimens did not have signicant changes. In conclusion, 14 kGy is the optimal decontamination dose for lycium fruit
for retention of its sensory quality and extension of shelf life.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Microbial decontamination; Lycium fruit; Gamma irradiation; Chemical composition; Sensory characteristic; Food
supplement; Traditional Chinese medicine

1. Introduction quality reduction of raw materials. This quality reduc-

The popularity of Chinese medicine recently has been
increasing since the good manufacturing practice system
has begun to be applied in Chinese medicine, and the
knowledge regarding the actions of Chinese medicine is
increasing. However, microbiological contamination of
herbal raw material is still a serious problem due to the
Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 3 5721962;
fax: +886 3 5725974.
E-mail address: chou@mx.nthu.edu.tw (F.-I. Chou).
tion can result in a decreasing production of therapeu-
tical preparations. The goal of this research is to
determine the optimal conditions for microbial decon-
tamination of lycium fruit using gamma irradiation.
Lycium fruit, the dried fruit of Lycium chinense Mill
and Lycium barbarum L., is commonly employed in
traditional Chinese medicinal treatment for improving
vision, and used as a food supplement (Hsu and
Peacher, 1994; Cheng et al., 2005). Lycium fruit could
be a potential antioxidant for use in retarding the aging
process and preventing diseases caused by reactive

0969-806X/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2005.12.031
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
H.-W. Wen et al. / Radiation Physics and Chemistry 75 (2006) 596603
oxygen species and free radicals (Ha et al., 2005; Luo
et al., 2004). Crude extracts of lycium fruit were
identied to be rich in antioxidants (e.g., carotenoids,
riboavin, etc.) (Luo et al., 2004). There are several ways
to consume lycium fruit. People can ingest lycium fruit
directly by chewing it without further processing.
Moreover, the cold or hot water extract of lycium fruit
can be used as drinks or can produce various types of
health-benecial foods. Lycium fruit contains abundant
amounts of proteins, glucose and fructose thus making
itself favorable to microbe propagation and affecting
hygiene, particularly as the whole-grain fruit was eaten
without cooking or in the form of tea. The recently
increasing demand for lycium fruit as a health-benecial
food has motivated interest in the improvement in its
quality. The quality of the lycium fruit is dependent on
three major factors: the source, harvest time, and
storage conditions. Microorganisms in the place of
harvest, or the contamination and decay caused by
microorganisms during transportation or storage com-
monly reduce the quality of lycium fruit. The high
relative humidity and high temperature are the favorable
conditions for microorganisms to grow, under which,
lycium fruit easily becomes contaminated and decom-
posed, raising concerns for the safety of the consumers.
Therefore, an effective method to eliminate the con-
tamination of microorganisms from lycium fruit is a
crucial requirement.
Irradiation has become an effective means of proces-
sing and preserving food products (WHO, 1988; Molins,
2001; Fan et al., 2003). For example, gamma irradiation
can extend shelf life of treated foods without inducing
the formation of any radionuclide in food products.
Food can be treated with irradiation either before or
after packaging without heating, the addition of
preservatives, or other processing. A Joint FAO/
IAEA/WHO Expert Committee on the Wholesomeness
of Irradiation of Food has ruled that foods subjected to
low dosages (10 kGy) of irradiation are safe and do not
require toxicological testing (WHO, 1981). In 1997, a
Joint FAO/IAEA/WHO Study Group was convened to
assess the safety and nutritional adequacy of food
irradiated to doses above 10 kGy. They concluded that
food irradiated to any dose appropriate to achieve the
intended technological objective is both safe to consume
and nutritionally adequate (WHO, 1999). Numerous
countries already apply irradiation to a wide range of
food products and medicinal materials (Molins, 2001).
Our previous studies have addressed the decontamina-
tion using radiation is a highly effective means of
microbial decontamination for pollen (Chou, 1998).
High-quality decontamination treatment should be
effective against microorganisms, and adaptable to large
amounts of material with high efciency without
reducing the quality of the treated commodities. This
study investigated the decontamination of lycium fruit
597
by radiation. In addition to determining the suitable
irradiation dose for lycium fruit, we investigated how
radiation affects the nourishing components and sensory
characteristics. The nourishing components including
b-carotene and riboavin before and after irradiation
were examined. Moreover, the predominant microbe
strain was isolated and identied. The results in this
study are valuable references for the food industry on
irradiation processes, legislators and regulators.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Sampling and irradiation of lycium fruit
The dried fruit of L. chinense Mill was used for
experiments. Dr. Y.S. Chung, Institute of Chinese
Pharmaceutical Sciences, China Medical University,
Taiwan, conrmed their authenticity. The fresh lycium
fruit was ordered from various sources, Ning Xia,
Mongolia and Xinjiang Autonomous Region, People
Republic of China. The harvested lycium fruit was dried
with sunshine for three consecutive days, transported to
the harbor by car (for 79 days) under the ambient
temperature (35 1C710 1C), and shipped to Taiwan (for
5 days) under 15 1C73 1C. Lycium fruit was sent from
the importers to the retail shops of Chinese medicine
within 15 days under the ambient temperature
(25 1C710 1C). Ten samples of lycium fruit purchased
from the importers or the local retail shops of Chinese
medicine in Taiwan were stored under 15 1C and
analyzed within 5 days. Gamma irradiation was
performed in a 30,000 Ci cobalt-60 hot cell at the
Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center,
National Tsing Hua University. Specimens, each
weighed 500 g, were used. Three replicates of 30 g
sample were taken from each of the 500 g specimens
and aerobically packed in a PVC (poly-vinyl chloride)
container. Samples were placed in the cobalt-60 hot cell
on irradiation stands and were irradiated at room
temperature (2530 1C). The irradiated stands were
rotated ten times per min to ensure that the irradiated
sample received a well-distributed radiation dose. The
samples were treated with a constant dose rate of 5 kGy/
h for various time intervals in order to obtain 0, 2, 4, 6,
8, 10, 12, and 14 kGy of gamma rays. The absorbed dose
was measured using silver dichromate dosimeter (ISO/
ASTM, 2003). The microbial content of the samples was
measured immediately after irradiation.
2.2. Enumeration of microbes
The solid culture media used in this study included
plate count agar (PCA), tryptic soy agar (TSA), and
potato dextrose agar (PDA; Dico, Detroit, USA) with
a nal pH value of 5.6; while, the liquid culture medium
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598 H.-W. Wen et al. / Radiation Physics and Chemistry 75 (2006) 596603

was plate count broth (PCB, Dico, Detroit, USA). The
0.067 M phosphate buffer saline (PBS, pH 7.0) con-
tained 4.73 g of Na2HPO4 and 4.54 g of KH2PO4 per
liter of distilled water. The two methods were applied to
count the microorganisms in both the irradiated and
non-irradiated lycium fruit: spread plate method and
direct observation method. In spread plate method, each
30 g sample was immersed in 100 ml PBS at 10 1C for
10 min and homogenized with a Lab-blender stomacher
MIX-1 (AES Laboratoire, France) for 3 min. Following
adequate dilution of the resulting homogenate with PBS,
the suspensions were spread and plated onto the PCA
culture plates for total aerobic microbial enumeration.
Molds and yeasts were enumerated by the spread plate
method using a PDA with chloramphenicol (Beuchat,
1993). The plates were incubated at 25 1C, and not
disturbed until colonies were counted. Each sample was
tested on violet red bile glucose agar (Dico, Detroit,
USA) to determine the total number of Enterobacter-
iaceae with incubation at 35 1C for 2448 h. Counts were
recorded in colony forming units per gram (CFU g1).
The presented data were the average counts in three
petri dishes for each test. The second method, direct
observation method, was applied to determine the
survivor of the microorganisms in the specimens. The
lycium fruit specimens were placed directly on the
surface of a plate culture medium and incubated at 30 1C
for 17 days. The longer incubation time was needed
because irradiation-induced cell injury delayed visible
colony formation. The growth of microorganisms on
and around the specimens was determined by visual
observation and using a microscope. Five replicates were
made for each specimen.
2.3. Identification of microbial strains and determination
of radio resistance
cultured in GPY agar to determine color, brightness and
surface characteristics of the colony (Vishniac, 2002). In
addition, it was cultured in corn meal agar (Dico,
Detroit, USA) to determine the growth of mycelium,
and in malt extract agar (Dico, Detroit, USA) and corn
meal agar to determine the spore formation. The
physiological characteristics of the yeast, including its
semi-anaerobic fermentation, aerobic utilization and
growth in various nitrogen and carbon sources at temp-
eratures from 20 to 42 1C, were tested. Finally, strain
LY1 was identied as a strain of yeast, Cryptococcus
laurentii (Barnett et al., 1990, 1996; Kurtzman and Fell,
1998).
The radio resistance of isolated C. laurentii LY1 and
B. cereus LB1 strains was evaluated in this study.
C. laurentii LY1 was cultured in potato dextrose broth
(PDB, Dico, Detroit, USA) at 25 1C and sampled in the
exponential phase. After centrifugation for removing
the media, C. laurentii LY1 was suspended in a PBS.
B. cereus LB1 was cultured in PCB medium at 30 1C for
47 days. Sporulation was conrmed by microscopic
examination. Spores were harvested by dipping the
culture broth in a water bath at 80 1C for 10 min. After
centrifugation, spores were suspended in PBS and stored
at 4 1C before use. The microbe suspension was placed in
test tubes and taken to the hot cell for irradiation, as
described above. After exposure to various doses of
radiation, the specimens were immediately examined to
determine the survival rate by spreading 0.1 ml of the
diluted microbe suspension onto a solid medium on a
Table 1
Characteristic of the isolate LB1 isolated from lycium fruit
Test item Characteristic

A strain, named as LY1 was isolated as the Cell morphology Rod

predominant strain from lycium fruit before irradiation. Motility +
A strain, named as LB1, was the only survivor after Gram stain +
10 kGy of irradiation. The LB1 strain was cultured onto Oxidase test 
the TSA plate. In addition to identication of microbial Spore +
Catalase test +
strain with Gram staining and microscopy, we con-
MacConkey growth +
ducted the identication PC program at the Culture Anaerobic grown +
Collection and Research Center of the Food Industry O/F test Fermentation
Research and Development Institute, Taiwan. The Biology (4 h) 1st test 
characteristics of strain LB1 was shown in Table 1 and Biology (24 h) 1st test Bacillus 0.393
was identied as a Gram-positive rod, Bacillus cereus Biology (4 h) 2nd test 
(Logan and Berkeley, 1984; Sneath, 1986; VITEK, Biology (24 h) 2nd test 
1995). Strain LY1 was identied according to its API 50CHB Bacillus cereus 99.9%
morphological and physiological characteristics and Vitek ID BACIL Bacillus cereus 81%
through the yeast identication PC program (Barnett Fatty acid analysis 1st test Bacillus thuringiensis 0.646
Fatty acid analysis 2nd test 
et al., 1996). First, LY1 was cultured in glucose peptone
Identication Bacillus cereus (or Bacillus
yeast (GPY) broth (2% glucose, 1% peptone and 0.5% thuringiensis)
yeast extract) to determine the size, morphology and
propagation of the vegetative cells, and then it was +, positive reaction; , negative reaction.
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H.-W. Wen et al. / Radiation Physics and Chemistry 75 (2006) 596603
culture plate. The culture plates of C. laurentii LY1 and
B. cereus LB1 strains were incubated at 25 and 30 1C,
respectively. At the 48th, 72nd and 96th hours, the plates
were removed to observe the growth condition and to
count the colonies. The countable colony number is
30300 per culture plate. The survival rate was estimated
and the survival curve was plotted (Chou and Tan, 1990;
Moseley and Copland, 1975).
2.4. Sample analysis
The pH value, titratable acidity, moisture, crude
proteins, b-carotene, riboavin, and vitamin C in the
lycium fruit samples were determined by ofcial analysis
methods of the AOAC 981.12, 942.15, 925.10, 976.06,
941.15, 981.15 and 984.26, respectively (AOAC, 1990).
In addition, sugars and organic acid were analyzed by
high-performance liquid chromatography (LC-10AT,
Shimadzu, Japan) (Medlicott and Thompson, 1985).
Moreover, color parameters of the surface of irradiated
and non-irradiated lycium fruit samples, including
Hunters lightness (L), redness (a) and yellowness (b),
were measured with a color and color difference meter
(model TC-8600A, Tokyo Denshoku Co.).
2.5. Sensory evaluation
The triangle test was conducted to determine whether
the panelists could distinguish between 14 kGy gamma
irradiated and non-irradiated lycium fruit (Meilgaard
et al., 1999). Twenty staff members from various
divisions of the Nuclear Science and Technology
Development Center were employed as the panelists
for this work. Criteria for participation included will-
ingness to sign an informed consent form and to
evaluate the irradiated samples, and availability during
the scheduled testing. Testing was undertaken in a
place free from extraneous odors and sound. Panelists
were requested not to talk during the procedure. The
panel test was carried out by using natural light,
since the panelists cannot detect such color difference
visually. Five grams of the dried lycium fruit samples
were placed in numerically coded weight glass beakers.
Three lycium fruit samples, coded with three-digit
random numbers, were presented to each panelist, along
with water. Two of the samples were identical. Panelists
individually evaluated the samples and marked score
sheets. The panelists were instructed to evaluate the
samples by chewing the dried whole-grain lycium fruit in
the order and should clear their palates between samples
using water and determine which one is the odd sample.
The panelists were allowed to re-test the samples.
Panelists who could not detect differences were allowed
to guess. No panelist or datum was eliminated. The
mean value obtained from three independent tests was
recorded.
599
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Microorganisms in lycium fruit
The spread plate method and direct observation were
used to evaluate the viability of microorganisms in the
specimens of lycium fruit following irradiation. From
the direct observation of the microorganism growth in
the specimen of non-irradiated lycium fruit on a PCA
plate, the species and amounts of microorganisms
clearly varied around the lycium fruit specimens. Some
of specimens were covered with yellow yeast, which
produced a large volume of gas in the culture plate. The
yellow yeast was identied as C. laurentii. In addition,
some of the specimens were polluted by mold. The
lycium fruit specimens contained total mesophilic
microbial counts of 3.1
1031.7
105 CFU/g and the
microbial proles of specimens sampled from different
sources varied markedly.
The viability of microorganisms in lycium fruit,
following irradiation with different gamma-ray radia-
tion doses of 0, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 kGy, was evaluated.
Although most of the specimens contained no living
microbes after irradiation at a dose of 8 kGy, some
specimens required a 14-kGy irradiation for complete
decontamination. However, for Enterobacteriaceae in-
activation, 4 kGy was a sufcient dose. As the radiation
dose increased, the microbial proles in the lycium fruit
signicantly changed. Yeast and molds initially grew on
all non-irradiated lycium fruit. Following irradiations at
the doses of 4 and 6 kGy, the concentration of yeast was
obviously reduced; therefore, fungi and bacteria gradu-
ally became the predominant. Following the irradiation
at 8 kGy, some of the specimens still contained a few
viable fungi, and the main microbial species had become
a bacterial strain with a cream-colored colony. Follow-
ing the irradiation at 10 kGy, the lycium fruit specimens
contained only a viable bacterium of the aforementioned
cream-colored bacterial strain. This surviving strain was
isolated and identied as a Gram-positive spore-forming
bacterium, B. cereus, and it could be completely
decontaminated after the irradiation at a dose of
14 kGy.
This research employed two approaches to evaluate
the viability of microorganisms in the irradiated
samples, because a single method cannot yield complete
results. The rst method is the spread-plate method, in
which the samples were immersed with shaking. After a
proper dilution, the immersed suspensions were evenly
spread on the plate. After the microbial colony had
formed, the colony morphology was observed and the
colony number was counted. The strength of this
approach is that the microbial colony exhibits clear
growth and allows easy counting. However, the weak-
ness is that the growth of some strains of the microbes
depends on particular component of the lycium fruit,
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600 H.-W. Wen et al. / Radiation Physics and Chemistry 75 (2006) 596603

so the microbial colonies cannot form on the general 0

medium for counting, potentially leading to under-
estimation. The second method is to put the sample of -1

Log Inactivation (CFU/ml)

lycium fruits directly onto the medium and to observe
-2
the growth of microbes. The microbes are counted by
eye, and an optical microscope is used to observe the -3
microbial growth on the lycium fruit and the prolifera-
tion from the lycium fruit to the medium. The strength -4
of this approach is that the strains of microbes that
depend on particular components in lycium fruit can -5
grow selectively on both the fruit and the adjacent
-6 C. laurentii
medium. Restated, it provides opportunities for growth.
B. cereus
Also, a microscope can be used to observe clearly the -7
situation with regard to growth of the microbe on the 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
lycium fruit and the erosion of the lycium fruits. Dose of Co-60 Gamma Radiation (kGy)
However, the weakness is that when the microbe grows
on lycium fruit with a less plain surface or a less Fig. 1. Surviving fraction of the strain of yeast, Cryptococcus
laurentii, and endospores of Bacillus cereus at various doses of
consistent color, the microbial colonies are not clearly
gamma irradiation.
seen and so can be easily missed. Additionally, when the
amount of microbe is high or many microbes are
(0.6 kGy) for the rst 90% reduction (LD90) and D10.
present, the microbial colonies on the lycium fruit
However, the survival curve of the spores of B. cereus
frequently overlap as they grow, so differentiating and
falls slowly and has a shoulder. Therefore, it has
counting accurately the microbial colonies become
different values for the LD90 (6.5 kGy) and D10
difcult. Therefore, the two methods mentioned above
(1.7 kGy). The D10 value is normally calculated over
should be simultaneously applied to determine the
the linear part of the death curve, but the presence of a
number of microbe contained in lycium fruit during
shoulder may result in underestimation of the actual
the determination of the relationship between radiation
dose required. Therefore, these two parameters (LD90
dose and decontamination of the microbes. Further-
and D10) are required to precisely describe the radiation
more, the growth of the microbes in the irradiated
resistance of microorganisms.
lycium fruit is slower than that in the non-irradiated
The spore-forming bacteria are the more resistant ones,
lycium fruit. Therefore, more time is required to observe
because bacteria in spore form tend to be much more
the microbial colonies and a 2-day delay is required
resistant to radiation than those in vegetative form.
before counting to ensure that the number of microbial
Therefore, the radiation dose required to decontaminate
colonies is not underestimated. Although the amount of
lycium fruits should be determined from the dose required
microbes in the lycium fruit is the main factor that
to eliminate the endospore of B. cereus strain. However,
determines the required radiation dose, the presence of
comparing B. cereus with the highly radio-resistant
spore-forming microbial strains is also an important
bacterial strain, Deinococcus radiodurans, which is also
reason for the required increase in radiation dosage,
appearing in food (Moseley, 1983), reveals that the radio-
conrming that the irradiation of lycium fruit at a dose
resistance of B. cereus is clearly lower than that of D.
of 14 kGy can effectively eliminate microbes. In this
radiodurans. The LD90 for D. radiodurans is about 13 kGy
study, gamma irradiation effectively inhibited the
(Chou and Tan, 1990; Tan and Maxcy, 1982). The
process of fermentation of lycium fruit by killing yeasts,
presence of B. cereus bacteria in lycium fruit specimens
greatly improving the quality of the lycium fruit and its
should not raise problems for radiation decontamination.
stability during transport and storage.

3.2. Radio resistance of the predominant yeast and the 3.3. Composition changes of lycium fruit after gamma-
spore-forming bacterial strain in the lycium fruit specimen ray irradiation

The radiation resistance of C. laurentii, the predomi-
nant microbial strain in the pre-irradiated lycium fruit
specimens, and B. cereus, the bacterial strain isolated
from the 10 kGy irradiated lycium fruit specimens, was
measured and shown in Fig. 1. The radio resistance of
these two strains differed greatly. The survival curve of
the yeast, C. laurentii, has no shoulder and its slope
declines sharply. This curve shows the same value
Specimens of lycium fruit that had been gamma
irradiated at 4, 8 and 14 kGy, and those of non-irradiated
lycium fruit, were examined to determine their pH value,
titratable acidity, moisture, crude protein, b-carotene,
riboavin, vitamin C, fructose, glucose, citric acid, malic
acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid and oxalic acid contents.
The pH value of the specimens of non-irradiated lycium
fruit was 5.08, and the titratable acidity that expressed as
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H.-W. Wen et al. / Radiation Physics and Chemistry 75 (2006) 596603 601

Table 2
Effects of gamma-irradiation on the composition in lycium fruit

Items Irradiation dose (kGy)

0 4 8 14

Moisture (g/100 g) 16.51 16.61 16.58 16.60

Crude protein (g/100 g) 13.44 13.24 13.31 13.19
b-carotene (mg/100 g) 1.13 1.13 1.12 1.12
Riboavin (mg/100 g) 0.63 0.64 0.63 0.60
Vitamin C (mg/100 g) 8.35 4.3 ND ND
Fructose (g/100 g) 25.03 24.91 25.01 24.99
Glucose (g/100 g) 22.84 22.76 22.83 22.78
Citric acid (g/100 g) 4.26 4.24 4.31 4.35
Malic acid (g/100 g) 2.54 2.47 2.49 2.55
Succinic acid (g/100 g) 1.18 1.21 1.18 1.22
Fumaric acid (g/100 g) 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02
Oxalic acid (g/100 g) 0.14 0.15 0.14 0.15

Each value was the average of triplicate of experiments.

ND, indicates no vitamin C detected.

titration ml of 0.1 N NaOH was 4.2. No signicant
changes in pH and acidity were observed following 4, 8
and 14 kGy gamma irradiation. The approximate com-
positions in 100 g lycium fruit samples were 16.51 g
moisture, 13.44 g crude protein, 1.13 mg b-carotene,
0.63 mg riboavin, 8.35 mg vitamin C, 25.03 g fructose,
22.84 g glucose, 4.26 g citric acid, 2.54 g malic acid, 1.18 g
succinic acid, 0.02 g fumaric acid and 0.14 g oxalic acid.
Table 2 presents the results. Lycium fruit is the essential
source of b-carotene and riboavin (Luo et al., 2004).
b-carotene is an anti-oxidant and a precursor of
vitamin A, and is believed to improve vision (Hammond
et al., 2001; Keijer et al., 2005). Notably, gamma
irradiation had no effect on b-carotene content. Ribo-
avin, an anti-oxidant and a water-soluble vitamin, is
essential for normal cellular functions (Foraker et al.,
2003). Riboavin was 0.63 mg per 100 g before irra-
diation and slightly decreased to 0.60 mg per 100 g
after the 14 kGy irradiation. Other composition was
not signicantly changed by gamma irradiation
except the vitamin C content. We observed that the
vitamin C content was decreased following the increasing
doses of gamma irradiation; this result was similar as the
effect of gamma irradiation on dried potato slices (Wang
and Du, 2005). The reduce of the vitamin C content
should not be a signicant problem, because lycium fruit
that commonly employed in traditional Chinese medic-
inal treatment for improving vision is the essential source
of b-carotene, not vitamin C (Hsu and Peacher, 1994).
(Table 3). Gamma irradiation slightly changed the color
specications of the surface of the dried lycium fruit
samples: the lightness, redness, and yellowness of the
samples slightly declined at high dosage (14 kGy). From a
three-dimensional scatter plot, all the L, a, b values varied
by two variables (storage time and irradiation doses) were
not signicantly different from one another at 95%
condence level. However, the b value seemed to slightly
alter only when gamma dose was changed.
3.5. Sensory evaluation
Sensory analysis was performed immediately follow-
ing irradiation. Triangle test panelists could not detect
any signicant difference between the 14-kGy gamma
irradiated and non-irradiated lycium fruit. For N 20,
a total of 11 correct responses were required to conclude
a signicant difference at pp0.05 (Meilgaard et al.,
1999). In our study, of the 20 panelists, only 7 correctly
selected the odd sample. This number was smaller than
that required to conrm signicance at a 5% level.
Moreover, some panelists, who presented the correct
results, could not specify the difference between these
two samples. This uncertainty indicated that panelists
could not distinguish non-irradiated lycium fruits from
lycium fruit irradiated at 14 kGy, as expected just by
chance. The evaluation showed that lycium fruit
retained their sensory quality after irradiation.

3.4. Hunters color value 4. Conclusion

Hunters color parameters of the irradiated and non- In this research, the optimal doses for inactivating
irradiated lycium fruit, such as lightness (L), redness (a), microorganisms in lycium fruit have been studied. The
yellowness (b) and color difference (DE), were determined sufcient dose for inactivating Enterobacteriaceae was
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602 H.-W. Wen et al. / Radiation Physics and Chemistry 75 (2006) 596603

Table 3
Changes in Hunters color value of non-irradiated and gamma irradiated lycium fruit

Color parametera Storage period (month) Irradiation dose (kGy)

0 4 8 14

L 0 25.22b 24.85 24.98 23.83

3 25.06 23.75 23.08 23.17
a 0 18.29 18.28 18.02 17.95
3 19.73 18.49 17.99 17.82
b 0 9.79 9.85 9.82 9.45
3 9.89 9.76 9.60 9.35
DE 0 0.00 0.375 0.362 1.471
3 1.452 1.484 1.464 2.149
q
a
L, degree of lightness; a, degree of redness; b, degree of yellowness; DE, the overall color difference ( DL Da Db2 ).
2 2
b
Each value was the average of triplicate determinations.

4 kGy and 14 kGy was required for eliminating the total
mesophilic microbes. In addition, 8 kGy was a sufcient
dose for the inactivation of yeasts, resulting in eliminat-
ing the unwanted fermentation process of lycium fruit.
To investigate the effect of gamma irradiation on
chemical composition of lycium fruit, the crude protein,
b-carotene, riboavin, vitamin C, fructose, glucose, citric
acid, malic acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, and oxalic
acid contents of lycium fruit were analyzed before and
after irradiation. Results showed that vitamin C content
reduced after irradiation at 14 kGy. However, amount of
other composition including b-carotene and riboavin
did not change signicantly under the same treatment.
Lycium fruit has been used as the major source of
b-carotene and riboavin, and people normally ingest
lycium fruit to improve their vision. In addition, the
sensory characteristic of lycium fruit also did not
signicantly alter after the 14 kGy irradiation. Therefore,
gamma irradiation at 14 kGy can be a potential method
as the cold decontamination for lycium fruit to prolong
the shelf life, to improve the hygienic quality, and to
reduce the risk of food borne disease.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Committee on Chinese
Medicine and Pharmacy of the Department of Health,
Taiwan, for their nancial support (CCMP-RD-045),
Professor Y.S. Chung for conrmation of the authenticity
of lycium fruit, and our colleagues in the Nuclear Science
and Technology Development Center for their assistance
in performing gamma irradiation and sensory evaluation.
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