Novel insights into ascorbate retention and degradation during the washing and post-harvest storage of spinach and other salad leaves.

ABSTRACT: Post-harvest treatments of pre-packaged salad leaves potentially cause l-ascorbate loss, but the mechanisms of ascorbate degradation remain incompletely understood, especially in planta. We explored the extent and pathways of ascorbate loss in variously washed and stored salad leaves. Ascorbate was assayed by 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol titration, and pathways were monitored by ¹⁴C-radiolabelling followed by high-voltage electrophoresis. All leaves tested showed ascorbate loss during storage: lettuce showed the greatest percentage loss, wild rocket the least. Spinach leaves were particularly prone to losing ascorbate during washing, especially with simultaneous mechanical agitation; however, washing in the presence of hypochlorite did not significantly increase ascorbate loss.

SUBMITTER: Dewhirst RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5441274 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature