Influence of different pasteurization techniques on antidiabetic, antioxidant and sensory quality of debittered bitter gourd juice during storage.

Debittered bitter gourd juice was subjected to gamma irradiation doses of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5 and 2.5 kGy and thermal pasteurization at temperatures of 65, 75, 85 and 95 °C. Shigella boydii was the most heat resistant pathogen tested (D10 of 42.8 s at 65 °C) while Bacillus cereus was the most resistant pathogen to irradiation with a D10 of 0.46 kGy. No significant (p < 0.05) effect of thermal pasteurization was observed on antidiabetic (α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition) activity, however, a 10% increase in α-glucosidase inhibition was observed in irradiated (2.5 kGy) samples. A significant (p < 0.05) but marginal reduction (up to 10%) was observed in antidiabetic activity during storage for a period of 90 days. Thermal pasteurization at 65 °C demonstrated significantly (p < 0.05) higher sensory quality as compared to irradiated (2.5 kGy) samples. This is first report on effect of pasteurization on antidiabetic activity of bitter gourd juice.