The influence of electron beam radiation on the nutritional composition of edible flowers of Bauhinia variegata L. from Brazil

Abstract

In the present study, flowers of Bauhinia variegata L. were submitted to electron beam radiation at different doses (0.5 and 0.8 kGy) for decontamination purposes and then analysed in terms of nutritional parameters: centesimal composition (moisture, proteins, fat, carbohydrates and ash), profile in free sugars (Determined by HPLC-RI) and fatty acids (analysed by GC-FID) in order to study the influence of electron-beam radiation on the nutritional properties of the flower samples. The ash content increased with the increasing in the irradiation dose as also the content in carbohydrates. The proteins content decreased in the irradiated samples and the fat content decreased in samples irradiated at 0.5 kGy. The fructose, glucose and sucrose contents were maintained without significant differences, thus causing no alteration in total sugars content. The percentage of SFA and MUFA decreased at 0.8 kGy, contrarly to the content in PUFA that increased with the dose of 0.8 kGy. The irradiation process did not greatly affect nutritional characteristics and could be useful in decontamination of edible flowers.