Use of ultrasonication to enhance pea seed germination and microbial quality of pea sprouts

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of ultrasonication, heating and chemical washing on decontamination of seeds of three pea (Pisum sativum) varieties and the microbial safety of their sprouts. Most of the decontamination treatments increased germination, decreased microbial load and enhanced sprout growth. Ultrasonication and NaOCl treatments reduced total aerobic counts on sprouts by 5.86 and 5.51 log units (averages of three varieties), respectively; while other chemical treatments (350 mL L À1 ethanol, 350 mL L À1 vinegar and 10 g L À1 NaCl solutions) failed to reduce total aerobic counts sufficiently enough to secure microbial safety. The ultrasonication not only improved germination (increased from an average of 83 to 97%), but also reduced the total aerobic counts to 2.21 log 10 CFU g À1 on seed sprouts. Ultrasonication also increased the sprouts yield to 301.83 g per 10 g seeds. Therefore, ultrasonication can be used as a microbial control treatment for pea sprout production.

Enhancing mung bean hydration using the ultrasound technology: description of mechanisms and impact on its germination and main components

“…3a and b), causing the bean germination, leading to the stage III. In fact, the ultrasound technology has improved the germination process of other seeds, such as barley3940, switchgrass41, pea42 and grass seeds43. Most of those works gave as the possible effect of ultrasound on the germination process, the increasing in the nutrient mobility, the respiration rate and/or the water availability for metabolic reactions.…”

A Review on Recent Trends of Ultrasound Assisted Processing in Food Segment

“…During the germination process there are chances of increasing microbial load which can be prevented by using preservative. So, in such case ultrasound is observe effective to reduce aerobic count by 5.86 and 5.51 log units and also increased the average germination from 83 -97% (Chiu and Sung, 2014).…”

Impacts of Ultrasonic Waves on Seeds: A Mini-Review

“…Use of ultrasound as a promising technique for breaking seed dormancy and increasing the germination percentage has recently been highlighted by the researcher's. In a research on the effect of ultrasonic waves on pea (Pisumsativum), Agricultural Research & Technology: Open Access Journal ultrasound application resulted in a 13.1 % increase in the seed germination compared to the control treatment [16]. In another experiment on four crop specieschickpea (Cicer arietinum), wheat (Triticumaestivum), pepper (Capsiumannuum) and watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris) [17], investigated the effect of sonication on the seeds' germination percentage.…”