Effects of a commercial scale intervention system combining ultraviolet (UV)-C and plasma treatments on the microbial decontamination of black pepper powder were investigated. The process parameters include treatment time, time for plasma accumulation before treatment, and water activity of black pepper powder. A significant reduction in the number of indigenous aerobic mesophilic bacteria in black pepper powder was observed after treatments lasted for ≥ 20 min (p<0.05) and the reduction was differed by powder manufacturer. The microbial reduction rates obtained by individual UV-C treatment, individual plasma treatment, and UV-C/plasma-combined treatment were 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 log CFU/g, respectively, suggesting that the efficacy of the microbial inactivation was enhanced by treatment combination. Nonetheless, neither plasma accumulation time nor powder water activity affected the microbial inactivation efficacy of the combined treatment. The UV-C/plasma-combined treatment, however, decreased lightness of black pepper powder, and the decrease generally increased as operation time increased. The plasma accumulation time of 20 min resulted in significant reduction in both lightness and brown color. The results indicate that the commercial-scale intervention system combining treatments of UV-C and plasma has the potential to be applied in the food industry for decontaminating black pepper powder.

The present study reports the protective properties of a total methanol extract of B. platyphylla var. japonica against ultraviolet (UV)-C irradiation. Pretreatment of Chinese hamster fibroblast (V79-4) cells with a total methanol extract significantly increased cell survival following 300J/m² of UV-C irradiation. The total methanol extract was further fractionated into 5 fractions: n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethylacetate, n-butanol and water fractions. Among these fractions, B. platyphylla var. japonica ethylacetate, butanol and water fractions showed significant protective effects against the cellular damage induced by UV-C irradiation. In order to elucidate the mechanism underlying this protective effect, DPPH (Editor note: abbreviations should be spelled out at first use.) radical scavenging and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity were measured. Significant radical scavenging and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activities were observed for the ethylacetate fraction. In summary, the present data demonstrate that an extract of B. platyphylla var. japonica has a significant protective effect against UV-C irradiation. The underlying mechanism of this protective effect may involve radical scavenging and inhibition of lipid peroxidation by the B. platyphylla var. japonica extract.

Traditionally, ultraviolet (UV) has been used for treating the pressure sore and skin wound. The effects of UVA and UVB radiation on disinfection have been reported. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of UVC radiation on disinfection of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium in vitro. Three bacterium were radiated by UVC (250 nm, 20 seconds) and incubated at for 24 hours at the agar culture medium. Kill rates of all three bacterium were 99.9%. UVC radiated on three kinds of bacterium for 30 or 60 seconds. Kill rates were 99.9% both 30 and 60 seconds. This data suggests that UV light at 250 nm could be a useful method to minimize infection and shorten healing time in pressure sore and skin wound condition.