Cold plasma: exploring a new option for management of postharvest fungal pathogens, mycotoxins and insect pests in Australian stored cereal grain

Abstract

Various strategies are used to reduce postharvest cereal grain contaminants such as insect pests and fungal pathogens. Chemical and physical treatments are common management practices but may leave harmful chemical residues on grains or alter their nutrient content (particularly temperature treatments) and have other limitations. This review explores the recent literature regarding cold plasma, with emphasis on its efficacy for decontamination of postharvest cereal grain from biological contaminants. Cold plasma is an ionised gas containing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, electrons and free radicals that are lethal to microorganisms and has the potential to decontaminate food surfaces and to increase shelf life. Studies conducted on rice, wheat, corn, barley and oats have demonstrated that cold plasma significantly reduced the amount of fungi, bacteria and their spores on grain surfaces. Cold plasma may also detoxify mycotoxins, and control insect pests. Evidence from various global studies demonstrates the potential use of cold plasma to manage postharvest fungi, mycotoxins and insect pests in Australian stored cereal grain.

Impact of plasma irradiation on Tribolium castaneum

“…Electron beam has been suggested to be used as a source of radiation (Codex Alimentarius Commission 2003), but the high applied doses of electron beam irradiation required to kill targeted insects may have unacceptable effects on product quality. Recently, another form of radiation, cold or non-thermal plasma, has been suggested to combine properties/effects of irradiation treatment with a sustainable energy source-which is one of the major challenges in radiation processes (Kaur et al 2020). Plasma, the fourth state of matter, is an ionized gas containing free electrons.…”

Novel nonthermal food processing practices: Their influences on nutritional and technological characteristics of cereal proteins

“…In fact, plasma is an ionized gas consisting of ultraviolet (UV) photons, negative and positive ions, free radicals, excited or neutral atoms, and molecules as well as free electrons which could generate reactive species including reactive oxygen species (ROS) (like atomic oxygen, ozone, singlet oxygen, superoxide, and hydroxyl radicals) and reactive nitrogen species (like nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide) during food processing (Zare et al., 2021 ). These reactive species are effective in the rapid microbial deactivation through oxidation of main cell components like DNA, proteins, and cytoplasmic membranes (Kaur et al., 2020 ). Thus, cold plasma processing could extend the shelf‐life and safety of food products at room temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions, without producing considerable perceivable alterations in food quality (Gavahian & Cullen, 2020 ).…”

Essential Oil Coating: Mediterranean Culinary Plants as Grain Protectants against Larvae and Adults of Tribolium castaneum and Trogoderma granarium

“…Therefore, recent advances in policies but also on the regulation of active substances emphasize the use of non-synthetic plant protection products [21,22]. While novel approaches such as cold plasma [23] and ozone [24] treatments have been proven efficient, they have also presented significant side effects, mostly in relation to the nutritional value and physical and chemical properties of grains. On the other hand, natural products have been demonstrated as a promising source of plant protection tools [22,[25][26][27].…”