Abstract
Spices sterilized by heating and gamma ray irradiation were subjected to an ESR analysis. The ESR spectrum of the spices was composed of a singlet at g = 2.0, this signal originating from an organic free radical. The intensity of the singlet signal of the spices increased linearly with microwave power and met threshold. The singlet signal intensity of the irradiated sample was the strongest. The relaxation times(T1 and T2) of the singlet signal were calculated, the times for the heated and irradiated samples being almost the same. A dilapidation process was necessary for analyzing lipid-rich spices. We conclude that the radical components of the heated and irradiated spices were the same.
