NUTRITIONAL VALUE ASSESSMENT AND PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF GAMMA IRRADIATED GRAPES

Abstract

Grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) belong to the family Vitaceae that are the best source of energy. The present research was focused to increase the shelf life and controlling the amount of fruit losses by optimizing the dose of gamma radiation and proximate analysis post gamma radiation. In the present study, grape samples were exposed to three doses of gamma radiation i.e. 0.5, 0.8 and 1 KGy. Nutritional value of grapes after gamma radiation was analyzed to determine the change in proximate composition. Through experimentation, it was observed that 0.8 KGy was optimized dose as the sensory properties remained unchanged and shelf life of grapes was increased up to 14 days. However the overall effect of gamma radiation enhanced the shelf life with a non-significant effect. Hence, gamma radiation is a promising technique in increasing country’s economy.