Structural Changes Induced by Pulsed Electric Fields Increase the Concentration of Volatiles Released in Red Onion (Allium cepa L. var. Red Pearl) Bulbs

This study investigated whether pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment can induce structural changes of whole, intact red onion bulb (Allium cepa L. var. Red Pearl). Onion bulbs were treated at electric field strengths of 0.6 and 1.2 kV/cm combined with energy inputs of 6 and 60 kJ/kg at different onion orientations with respect to the high voltage electrode. Results showed that onion cells across all fleshy scales experienced uniform cell damage with a higher proportion (>80%) of non-metabolically viable cells after PEF treatment at 1.2 kV/cm when the root end was positioned facing toward the PEF electrode. The findings were supported by cryogenic-scanning electron micrographs (cryo-SEM), where the underlying storage circular cells were completely damaged owing to the PEF treatment. In this study, it was found that the treatment intensity of PEF to induce structural damage across all the scale layers of an onion bulb coincided with an increase in dipropyl disulfide (DPDS) released from the onion bulbs. Therefore, DPDS was used as a volatile marker indicating cellular disruption within whole, intact onion bulbs. A considerable increase of DPDS, up to 52-fold, was detected from PEF-treated onion bulbs compared to untreated bulbs.