Use of electronic sterilisation to increase the biological protein value and increase the shelf life of semi-finished oyster mushroom products

The question of the biological value of mushroom protein is not limited to the study of its composition. In addition, the associated problem of its digestibility and assimilability is widely discussed in the scientific community, including in the scientific publications discussed in this article. Mycoprotein derived from proteinrich unicellular fungi biomass is commonly used in contemporary food-production processes. In Russia, however, an alternative source of protein consists in the higher fungi including the common oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). It is known that fungal proteins having a rich amino acid composition are absorbed at the level of plant proteins, since they are “packed” in the intercellular chitinous membrane. Various technological methods are used in the processing of raw fungi materials in order to destroy the membrane and release the protein macromolecule. These include traditional processing methods, such as grinding, thermal exposure, etc. In the present article, electromagnetic sterilisation of convenience foods is considered as a means of improving product safety. The authors studied the effect of ionising electron radiation on the physicochemical properties of mushroom products using the example of a heat-treated, vacuum-packaged, semi-finished oyster mushroom product. The applied radiation doses were 1, 3, 6 and 9 kGy. The obtained data showed that, when a semifinished product is irradiated with a dose of 1 to 6 kGy, a greater amount of protein is released compared to unirradiated samples; moreover, that the content of a number of essential amino acids also increases. Therefore, this method allows the biological activity of the nutrients to be increased. The sterilising effect of ionising radiation was achieved with a dose of 6 kGy due to slowing the growth of microorganisms: no pathogenic microorganisms were detected and no growth was observed over a period of 21 days. Thus, electronic ionising radiation as part of the technological process of processing mushrooms allows the biological value of the protein to be increased, preventing the growth of microorganisms and thereby extending the shelf life of mushroom products.

electromagnetic sterilisation, oyster mushroom, semi-finished mushroom, amino acid composition of protein, ionising radiation, shelf life

1. Lisin P.A., Musina O.N., Kister I.V., Chernopolskaya N.L. Evaluation of sound amino acid composition of multifood. Vestnik Omskogo gosudarstvennogo agrarnogo universiteta. 2013, no. 3 (11), pp. 53–58. (In Russian)

2. Lipatov N.N. Some aspects of amino acid balance modeling. Pishchevaya i pererabatyvayushchaya promyshlennost'. 1986, no. 4, pp. 48–51. (In Russian)

3. Lipatov N.N., Sazhinov G.Yu., Bashkirov O.N. Formalized analysis of amino and fatty acid balance of raw materials, promising for the design of baby food with specified nutritional adequacy. Khranenie i pererabotka sel'khozsyr'ya. 2001, no. 8, pp. 11–14. (In Russian)

4. Boutrif E. Recent developments in protein quality evaluation. Food, Nutrition and Agriculture. 1991, issue 2/3. Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/U5900t/u5900t07.htm (accessed 28.06.2019)

5. Schaafsma G. The Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) – a concept for describing protein quality in foods and food ingredients: a critical review. Journal of AOAC International. 2005, vol. 88, issue 3, pp. 988–994.

6. Dietary protein quality evaluation in human nutrition. Report of an FAO Expert Consultation, 31 March – 2 April 2011, Auckland, New Zealand. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper, vol. 92. Rome. Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, 2013, 66 p. Available at: http://www.fao.org/ag/humannutrition/35978-02317b979a686a57aa4593304ffc17f06.pdf (accessed 28.06.2019)

7. Sarwar G. The protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score method overestimates quality of proteins containing antinutritional factors and of poorly digestible –proteins supplemented with limiting amino acids in rats. The Journal of Nutrition. 1997, vol. 127, issue 5, pp. 758–764. DOI: 10.1093/jn/127.5.758

8. Denny A., Aisbitt B., Lunn J. Mycoprotein and health. Nutrition Bulletin. 2008, vol. 33, issue 4, pp. 298–310. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-3010.2008.00730.x

9. Edwards D.G., Cummings J.H. The protein quality of mycorprotein. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2010, vol. 69, issue OCE4, pp. E331. DOI: 10.1017/S0029665110001400

10. Wiebe M. Myco-protein from Fusarium venenatum: a well-established product for human consumption. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2002, vol. 58, issue 4, pp. 421–427. DOI: 10.1007/s 00253-002-0931-x

11. Wiilamson D.A., Geiselman P.J., Lovejoy J., Greenway F., Volaufova J., Martin C.K., Arnett C., Ortego L. Effects of consuming mycoprotein, tofu or chicken upon subsequent eating behaviour, hunger and safety. Appetite. 2006, vol. 46, issue 1, pp. 41–48. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2005.10.007

12. Radiatsionnye tekhnologii v sel'skom khozyaistve i pishchevoi promyshlennosti [Radiation technologies in agriculture and food industry]. Ed. by G.V. Koz’min, S.A. Geras’kin, N.I. Sanzharova. Obninsk: Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology Publ., 2015, 400 p.

13. Fernandes A., Barreira J.C.M., Antonio A.L., Martins A., Ferreira I.C.F.R. Triacylglycerols profiling as a chemical tool to identify mushrooms submitted to gamma or electron beam irradiation. Food Chemistry. 2014, vol. 159, pp. 399–406. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.03.035

14. Mami Y., Peyvast G., Ziaie F., Ghasemnezad M., Salmanpour V. Improvement of shelf life and postharvest quality of white mushroom by electron beam irradiation. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. 2014, vol. 38, issue 4, pp. 1673–1681. DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.12129

15. Zhang K.X., Pu Y.Y., Sun D.W. Recent advances in quality preservation of postharvest mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus): A review. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 2018, vol. 78, pp. 72–82. DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2018.05.012

16. Abdeldaiem M.H.M., Ali H.G.M., Hassanien M.F.R. Extending the shelf life of refrigerated beef balls using methanol extracts of gamma-irradiated mushrooms. Fleischwirtschaft. 2016, vol. 96, issue 11, pp. 107–114.

17. Cardoso R.V.C., Fernandes Â., Barreira J.C.M., Verde S.C., Antonio A.L., Gonzaléz-Paramás A.M., Barros L., Ferreira I.C.F.R. Effectiveness of gamma and electron beam irradiation as preserving technologies of fresh Agaricus bisporus Portobello: A comparative study. Food Chemistry. 2019, vol. 278, pp. 760–766. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.11.116

18. Kortei N.K., Odamtten G.T., Obodai M., WiafeKwangyan M., Addo E.A. Influence of low dose of gamma radiation and storage on some vitamins and mineral elements of dried oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus). Food Science & Nutrition. 2017, vol. 5, issue 3, pp. 570–578. DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.432

19. Tejedor-Calvo E., Morales D., Marco P., Venturini M.E., Blanco D., Soler-Rivas C. Effects of combining electron-beam or gamma irradiation treatments with further storage under modified atmospheres on the bioactive compounds of Tuber melanosporum truffles. Postharvest Biology and Technology. 2019, vol. 155, pp. 149–155. DOI: 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2019.05.022

20. Teplyakova T.V., Kosogova T.A., Anan'ko G.G., Bardasheva A.V., Il'icheva T.N. Antiviral activity of basidiomycetes. Review of literature. Problemy meditsinskoi mikologii.2014, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 15–25.(In Russian)