# _Applied sciences_
## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Effect of \(\upgamma\)-Irradiation on Aflatoxin Levels  
First, different \(\upgamma\)-irradiation doses were tested on solutions containing the four studied aflat (5 \(\upmu\)g/Kg). The outcomes are displayed in Figure 1. The results indicate that higher doses of radiation resulted in greater reductions in aflatoxin levels. However, the 10 kGy doses were excluded, as the aim was to assess the efficacy of lower doses, which are more prevalent in food irradiation and less likely to alter the nutritional quality of almonds. For instance, when the solutions were exposed to 1 kGy of \(\upgamma\)-radiation, aflatoxin B1 showed a 25% reduction (3.8 \(\upmu\)g/Kg), while at 8 kGy, the reduction was 62% (1.9 \(\upmu\)g/Kg). Similarly, for aflatoxin B2, the reduction percentages were 1, 6, 14, and 22%, corresponding to concentrations of 5, 4.7, 4.3, and 3.9 \(\upmu\)g/kg for doses of 1, 2, 4, and 8 kGy, respectively. It was evident that aflat B1 and G1 were more readily inactivated compared to the B2 and G2 aflat. The above results are in accordance with previous studies [25; 32]. This is explained by the process via which degradation takes place. More precisely, water molecules become ionized by \(\upgamma\)-radiation, resulting in the production of free electrons and water radicals. As a result, the water radicals break down into hydrogen ions and hydroxyl radicals. As in the cases of B1 and G1, the generated free radicals are easily able to interact with double bonds, particularly those found in aromatic or heterocyclic rings [25; 32]. Next, it was determined how well \(\gamma\)-irradiation reduced the amount of aflat in samples of almonds that had been tampered with. The findings (Figure 2) demonstrated that all four aflatoxin types were reduced in the almond samples following \(\gamma\)-irradiation treatment, with larger doses of irradiation often producing larger reductions. For aflatoxin B1, the percentage of reduction increased from 2.3% at 1 kGy to 10.2% at 2 kGy, and further to 24% at 8 kGy, corresponding to a decrease in concentration from 4.9 to 4.5 and down to 3.8 ug/kg. A comparable trend was observed for aflatoxin B2, with the percentage of reduction increasing from 1.2% at 1 kGy to 11% at 8 kGy, equating to a concentration decrease from 4.9 to 4.5 ug/kg. Similarly, for aflatoxin G1, the percentage of reduction increased from 12.5% at 1 kGy to 20.5% at 8 kGy, corresponding to a concentration drop from 4.4 to 4.0 ug/kg. The results suggest that a moderate reduction in aflat was achieved for all irradiations. The outcomes align with the findings of an earlier investigation [25]. In a different study, the effects of \(\gamma\)-radiation on aflatoxin B1 breakdown were examined in relation to different feed crops (barley, bran, and maize) as well as food crops (peanut, rice, corn, unpeel pistachio) [16]. Our findings are supported by the data, which showed that, for all examined samples, the degradation of aflatoxin B1 increased as the \(\gamma\)-radiation dose rose. Additionally, at a dose of 10 kGy, rice had the highest percentage of aflatoxin B1 degradation (87.8%), followed by peanuts (58.6%), corn (81.1%), peeled pistachios (68.8%), and unpeeled pistachios (84.6%). Similarly, in feed samples, the highest percentages of aflatoxin B1 degradation were observed in corn (84%), followed by bran (86%) and barley (90%). A similar result was also found in the study of [PERSON] et al. [26], who found that irradiation (10 kGy) of soybeans resulted in the complete degradation of aflatoxin B1. The percentages achieved in our case were lower than those in the two abovementioned studies. The water content of the various samples could have been the cause of this deviation. Almonds contain a low amount of water (4.5% in our case). As such, the low amount of water is a limiting factor for the degradation of aflat, since, as stated above, water is important for the generation of free radicals.