Response surface methodology was applied to optimize microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity from fruiting bodies of Coriolus versicolor mushroom, and to compare its efficiency with conventional reflux extraction. A central composite design was employed for the optimization of three MAE parameters including extraction time (X 1 , min), ethanol concentration (X 2 , %) and microwave power (X 3 , W) for the highest yield of TPC and antioxidant activity measured by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays in C. versicolor extracts. The optimum conditions were predicted as 3.8 min extraction time, 40% ethanol concentration and 125 W microwave power to obtain maximum values of TPC (470 mg GAE/100 g dm) and antioxidant activity measured by DPPH (773 mM TE/ g dm), ABTS (2,930 mM TE/g dm) and FRAP (1,710 mM TE/g dm) assays, which were statistically verified by comparing with the experimentally observed values. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSIn this study, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) showed significant potential as a green extraction method for obtaining Coriolus versicolor mushroom extract rich in polyphenols with higher antioxidant activity as compared to the extracts obtained by reflux extraction. Furthermore, MAE resulted in reduced consumption of energy, time and solvent with higher extraction yield and efficiency. This work demonstrated further feasibility studies on MAE of phytochemicals including polyphenols-rich extracts at industrial scale. Moreover, successful application of response surface methodology has opened future research avenues for optimization of bioactive components from other mushrooms of medicinal importance.anticancer and immune-enhancing properties (Cui and Chisti 2003;Szeto 2008;Sun et al. 2014). Hot water extract of C. versicolor is famous as one of the most effective immune support supplements (Mushroom Science 2015). Multistep hot water extraction has been mainly reported to obtain extract from C. versicolor (Cui and Chisti 2003;Szeto 2008). The RE method for extraction of bioactives components involves 4 h of extraction time at 95 6 58C (MFDS

Changes in cumin and chili powder from India resulting from electron-beam irradiation were investigated using 3 analytical methods: electronic nose (E-nose), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The spices had been exposed to 6 to 14 kGy doses recommended for microbial decontamination. E-nose measured a clear difference in flavor patterns of the irradiated spices in comparison with the nonirradiated samples. Principal component analysis further showed a dose-dependent variation. FTIR spectra of the samples showed strong absorption bands at 3425, 3007 to 2854, and 1746 cm(-1). However, both nonirradiated and irradiated spice samples had comparable patterns without any noteworthy changes in functional groups. EPR spectroscopy of the irradiated samples showed a radiation-specific triplet signal at g = 2.006 with a hyper-fine coupling constant of 3 mT confirming the results obtained with the E-nose technique. Thus, E-nose was found to be a potential tool to identify irradiated spices.