UV-C Treatment maintains quality and delays senescence of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)

- UV-C treatment with 4.0 kJ/m2 maintained quality and tissue integrity of oyster mushrooms.
- UV-C treatment with 4.0 kJ/m2significantly slowed microbial growth of oyster mushrooms.
- UV-C treatment with 4.0 kJ/m2 reduced the decrease in color, soluble solid content and total proteins.
- UV-C treatment increased enzyme activities of CAT and PAL during the storage period.
- Oyster mushrooms stored at 4 °C for up to 15 days retained acceptable quality.

The feasibility of UV-C treatment was studied for extending the shelf-life of oyster mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms were treated with 4.0 kJ/m2 ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation before packaging with LDPE pouches, stored at 4 °C for 15 days. During storage, color, tissue electrolyte leakage, soluble solid content, soluble protein, methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), catalase (CAT), total viable counts, lactobacillus, yeast & mold counts and overall quality of oyster mushrooms were measured. Oyster mushrooms treated with UV-C resulted in slower changes in color, soluble solid content, soluble protein, exhibited higher CAT,PAL activities and overall quality, lower tissue electrolyte leakage and MDA content compared to untreated oyster mushrooms. Besides, oyster mushrooms treated with UV-C also show a high potential ability for surface decontamination of oyster mushrooms. Results show that UV-C treatment could be useful to extend the shelf life of oyster mushrooms.