The blackberry is a fruit that has attracted the attention of producers and consumers due to its pleasant flavor, attractive color and composition present in high content of bioactive compounds. The major deterrent to consumption and marketing of the blackberry fruits is its high respiration rate, which reduces its lifetime. A viable alternative to the economic utilization of these fruits is its industrialization, can be frozen, canned, processed in pulp form, or in the form of juices and jellies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of gamma radiation on the conservation of blackberry pulp. The irradiation was performed in the laboratory of gamma irradiation in the Development Center of Nuclear Technology (CDTN) in a cobalt 60 source, with the following radiation doses : 0.75 kGy ; 1.5 kGy and 3 kGy, under a dose rate of 3.24 kGy.h-1. The non-irradiated pulp was used as control. The irradiated blackberry pulps were stored at temperature of 4 ºC and evaluated at 0, 7, 15, 30 and 60 days. To check the effects of gamma radiation on the pulp processing, it was realized physicochemical and chemical characterization through the analysis of acidity, pH , soluble solids, total solids, anthocyanins, antioxidant activity and color. Microbiological analysis according to Brazilian legislation was also done. The irradiation process increase the shelf life of the pulp within 60 days, and the treatment with a dose of 1.5 kGy was the one that provided better microbiological quality.
Anthocyanins; antioxidant activity; shelf life; gamma irradiation and Rubus spp
