Effect of Gamma Radiation and Storage Time on the Microbial and Physicochemical Properties of Dried Byadgi Chili (Capsicum annuum)
, Irman Abdul Rahman 3,4, Eqbal Dauqan 5 and Aminah Abdullah 1Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The objective of this study was the effects of gamma radiation up and storage time on microbial and physicochemical properties of dried Byadgi.
The Strengths of manuscript it the used of HPLC for analysis aflatoxin, capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin and the statistical analysis is very completed
The manuscript shows that The efficacy of gamma radiation and its storage quality at ambient temperature on microbial and physicochemical quality attributes for dried Byadgi chilli, one of Malaysia's most popular
The footnotes of table 1,2,3,4 and 5 should write in one paragraph.
The tables should be in only one page.
The figure 2 should be centered
Author Response
Dear Reviewers,
We appreciate the feedback and thought given to the quality of our manuscript. We appreciate all of the reviewers' input and have made the following changes:
Response to Reviewer 1 Comments
Point 1: The footnotes of table 1,2,3,4 and 5 should write in one paragraph.
Response 1: We have made changes to the manuscript in response to the aforementioned suggestion.
Point 2: The tables should be in only one page.
Response 2: We have made changes to the manuscript in response to the aforementioned suggestion.
Point 3: The figure 2 should be centered
Response 3: We have made changes to the manuscript in response to the aforementioned suggestion.
Thank you very much and best regards,
SMY
Reviewer 2 Report
In my opinion presented for publication article is well written. Introduction reflects the aim of the study, methodology includes all necessary information, organization of tables is correct.
I suggest to give more attention to conclusion section. In my opinion conclusion the conclusions are too general, a suggestion of specific parameters is needed that the authors would suggest for use.
Author Response
Dear Reviewers,
We appreciate the feedback and thought given to the quality of our manuscript. We appreciate all of the reviewers' input and have made the following changes:
Response to Reviewer 2 Comments
Point 1: I suggest to give more attention to conclusion section. In my opinion conclusion the conclusions are too general, a suggestion of specific parameters is needed that the authors would suggest for use.
Response 1: We agree with the comment and have replaced the conclusion with the following new version.
Efficacy of gamma radiation and its storage quality at ambient temperature on microbial and physicochemical quality attributes for dried Byadgi chilli was investigated. Moisture and water activity increased with radiation. However, upon storage radiated samples showed lower moisture and water activity level in comparison to control sample. Radiation at 10.0 kGy demonstrated sterilisation with good microbial profile until 16 weeks of storage, whereas radiation at 5.0 and 7.5 kGy showed better sanitary effect up to 16 weeks of storage even though complete sterilization was not achieved. it was observed radiation did not help in preserving surface colour for dried Byadgi chilli. Radiation at 5.0 and 7.5 kGy can be used to reduce microbial load to an acceptable level with minimal changes in physical properties when stored at ambient temperature for 16 weeks.
Thank you very much and best regards,
SMY
Reviewer 3 Report
The paper "Effects of gamma radiation and storage time on the microbial and physicochemical properties of dried Byadgi chilli" is devoted to an actual and significant topic of food safety and decontamination of pathogens and mycotoxins. The paper is well written and the methods are described in detail and can be easily reproduced. The results showing that gamma radiation can be considered as a promising technology for decreasing microbial and mycotoxin contamination of Capsicum annuum have scientific and applied significance.
At the same time, I would like to make some minor comments:
- Page 2, line 4-5: KarnAtaka instead of Karnatka?
- Pages 5-11, Tables 1-5: are these tables could be replaced by graphics? Probably it would illustrate the relations more clearly? (It is just a recommendation, I do not insist on it).
- I noticed that a many of references in the text of manuscript are quite old (1990s, 2000s). I believe it would be justified to add some more recent papers, including ones discussing application of irradiation for other agricultural plants (such as Gaspar et al., 2019, Song et al., 2018, Ernawati et al., 2021, Calado et al., 2018, Khalili et al., 2017) as well as review by Guo et al., 2021.
Author Response
Dear Reviewers,
We appreciate the feedback and thought given to the quality of our manuscript. We appreciate all of the reviewers' input and have made the following changes:
Response to Reviewer 3 Comments
Point 1: Page 2, line 4-5: KarnAtaka instead of Karnatka?
Response 1: Amended to Karnataka
Point 2: Pages 5-11, Tables 1-5: are these tables could be replaced by graphics? Probably it would illustrate the relations more clearly? (It is just a recommendation, I do not insist on it).
Response 2: We thank the reviewer for the suggestion. We decided to exhibit the values in the form of a table rather than graphics since we chose to utilise Principle Component (biplot) in the later results to illustrate the correlation relationship among variables/parameters included in the study. We also sometimes combined 2 aspects of evaluation in a Table that have different levels/values which may be less suitable to be presented in the form of graphics.
Point 3: I noticed that a many of references in the text of manuscript are quite old (1990s, 2000s). I believe it would be justified to add some more recent papers, including ones discussing application of irradiation for other agricultural plants (such as Gaspar et al., 2019, Song et al., 2018, Ernawati et al., 2021, Calado et al., 2018, Khalili et al., 2017) as well as review by Guo et al., 2021.
Response 3: Thank you for the comments. We have made some necessary changes and included some references suggested by the reviewer.
Thank you very much and best regards,
SMY
