Physicochemical and microbiological evaluation of treated <i>Gastrodia elata</i> with combination of slightly acidic electrolyzed water and lithium magnesium silicate under certain temperatures and different storage periods

This study aimed to investigate the impact of slightly acidic electrolyzed water combined with lithium magnesium silicate hydrosol on the quality of fresh slices of <i>Gastrodia elata</i> under varying storage temperatures, including room temperature fresh slices of <i>Gastrodia elata</i> 25 °C and 37 °C. Fresh slices of <i>Gastrodia elata</i> 25 and 37 samples were stored for 13 days and extensively analyzed for color, weight loss, decay index, bacterial count, vitamin C, and polysaccharide contents during different storage periods. The findings revealed that the slightly acidic electrolyzed water + hydrosol treatment notably decreased weight loss and decay index compared to distilled water and slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatments. Moreover, fresh slices of <i>Gastrodia elata</i> treated with slightly acidic electrolyzed water + hydrosol exhibited untraceable bacterial counts after 3 days, with counts starting to increase after 7 days of storage. The bacterial counts rose from 3.25 to 5.36 and from 4.13 to 5.79 log CFU/g under both storage conditions. The application of slightly acidic electrolyzed water + hydrosol resulted in reduced chromaticity values of L*, a*, and b* on the <i>Gastrodia elata</i> surface, along with a lower percentage loss of polysaccharide contents and vitamin C compared to distilled water and slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatments. These results suggested that <i>Gastrodia elata</i> treated with slightly acidic electrolyzed water + hydrosol maintained its quality characteristics and nutritional attributes, exhibiting greater stability during storage.