Assessing The Impact Of The Combined Application Of Ultrasound And Ozone On Microbial Quality And Bioactive Compounds With Antioxidant Attributes Of Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea L. Var. Capitata)

Ultrasound (US) and ozone processing allow achieving food technological aims such as the improvement of food safety and preservation. The combination of these technologies has been reported to be beneficial in inactivating microorganisms from fruits and vegetables. However, treatment conditions and mechanisms of action of these technologies can affect vegetables or fruits structure as well as their phytochemical components. This study therefore, aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial capacity of ultrasound and ozone alone or combined on artificially inoculated cabbage withE. coliandSalmonella. The impact of these decontamination processes on cabbage intercellular structure, pH, total phenol, total flavonoid and antioxidant activities were also determined. Results showed that the combination treatment significantly inactivated populations of artificially inoculatedE. coliandSalmonellacompared to individual processing. The inactivation effectiveness was greatly enhanced with increased ozone concentration (1.5 mg/L) and processing time, with no detectable bacteria in the washing water after only 8 min of treatment. Furthermore, ultrasound treatment alone for 8 min led to improved cabbage content of phenol, flavonoid and antioxidant activity without affecting its intercellular structure. However, the combination treatment exerted a slight decrease of these components though not statistically significant compared to untreated samples. A significant decrease was observed with the longest exposure time (20 min). We conclude that ultrasound individual treatment or its combination with ozone can be used as sanitizer to not only reduce microorganisms from fresh cabbage but also maintain its appearance quality and improve its bioactive properties and antioxidant activity. Practical applications This study was conducted to evaluate the inactivation effectiveness of ultrasound and ozone on inoculated cabbage leaves. To make an effective disinfection on the leaves, US and ozone have been combined, which resulted in a reduction of treatment time and maintenance of the bioactive compounds, the antioxidant activity and intercellular structure attributes. The results of this research support and suggest that the combination treatment of US with ozone at 1.5 mg/L for 8 min is the most suitable processing for sanitizing fresh cabbage without damaging its structure, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity.