Volatile Flavor Compounds of Gamma Irradiated Melon (<italic>Cucumis melo</italic> L.) Seeds by Simultaneous Distillation Extraction and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) Analysis.

AbstractGamma irradiation is one of the preservation techniques used to increase the shelf life of foods. The current study was aimed to determine the volatile flavor contents of melon (<italic>Cucumis melo</italic> L.) seeds and the impact of gamma radiation upon these compounds. The seeds were irradiated with gamma rays at 1, 5, 10, and 20 kGy doses. The volatile compounds were extracted by simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE), using <italic>n</italic>-pentane/diethyl ether (1:1, v/v) and determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 70 volatile flavor compounds were identified in the control, with 2,3-butanediole (18.01%) and 1-hexanol (6.06%) as the major compounds. The number and percentage of the volatile compounds varied with the gamma irradiation doses. Twenty-eight volatile compounds were present in the non-irradiated and irradiated samples at different concentrations. Up to the recommended gamma irradiation dose of 10 kGy, the number of volatile flavor compounds generally increased. There were changes in both the number and percentages of the identified volatile flavor compounds following gamma irradiation of the <italic>Cucumis melo</italic> L seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]