Post-irradiation changes of the volatile oil constituents of Monodora myristica (Gaertn) Dunal.

Volatile oil rich spices cannot be sterilised by pasteurisation because of the presence of thermal-sensitive components. In this article, we report the effect of irradiation on the volatile constituents of Monodora myristica. The samples were irradiated at ambient conditions at dose levels of 0 and 15 kGy using a linear accelerator at a dose rate of approximately 10(7) Gy s(-1). The volatile oil was extracted via headspace analysis and the quantification carried out with a HP-5MS fused silica column. Twenty-three constituents were identified with alpha-phellandrene as the major constituent (53%). Electron-beam irradiation of M. myristica did not significantly affect the volatile constituent profile at 15 kGy. Except alpha-thujene, which was increased from 7.18% to 16.76%, the most affected constituents were those that constitute less than 0.10% of the oil. Irradiation could be an effective way for decontamination of M. myristica.