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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Early Access

Management of total aflatoxin in groundnut using gamma irradiation for improving food safety and quality assurance

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13933
Submitted
1 February 2026
Published
06-07-2026
Versions

Abstract

Aflatoxins (AF) are toxic fungal metabolites with carcinogenic effects that threaten public health, reduce food quality and compromise food security. This study quantified total AF in groundnut using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and evaluated gamma irradiation as a detoxification approach. Before irradiation, AF level in raw nuts ranges from 4.68-3.54 µg kg-1 and in roasted nuts ranges from 4.26-3.23 µg kg-1. Nuts irradiated with 4, 6, 8 and 10 kGy of gamma rays significantly reduce the toxin level i.e., 14.73 %, 14.99 %, 22.87 %, 24.23 % in raw groundnut and 9.30 %, 9.91 %, 13.59 %, and 24.41 % in roasted groundnut. After irradiation, samples were kept at 25 °C and 4  °C storage condition and found that the samples remains their toxin level within acceptable limit (< 4 ppb) at 6 kGy and enhances safety at 4  °C compare to 25 °C. Gamma irradiation also inhibited fungal growth in both raw and roasted groundnut, while producing minimal changes in sample weight. No visible morphological alterations were observed in groundnut kernels following irradiation up to 10 kGy. The findings suggest that gamma irradiation combined with low-temperature storage is an effective approach for managing aflatoxin contamination in groundnut as well as enhancing food safety with quality assurance.

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