Influence of growth stage and postharvest storage on ascorbic acid and carotenoid content and visual quality of baby spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)

Can hot water treatments enhance or maintain postharvest quality of spinach leaves?

“…Total carotenoid concentration in unheated spinach leaves declined throughout the storage period. This is in agreement with previous findings (Pandrangi and LaBorde, 2004;Bunea et al, 2008) but in contrast to those reporting carotenoids to be relatively stable during the storage of spinach leaves (Bergquist et al, 2006(Bergquist et al, , 2007Lester et al, 2010).…”

“…A significant decrease in total AsA content was observed after 10 d of storage, an observation that has previously been reported by other authors (Gil et al, 1999;Bergquist et al, 2006Bergquist et al, , 2007Bottino et al, 2009). No significant difference in AsA content was observed between heated and unheated spinach leaves.…”

“…This was in agreement with Pandrangi and LaBorde (2004), but in contrast to those reporting chlorophyll concentrations to be relatively stable during the storage of spinach leaves (Bergquist et al, 2006;Conte et al, 2008). The difference in chlorophyll retention may also be a consequence of studying a different cultivar to other workers, or else seasonal differences previously reported (Bergquist et al, 2006;Conte et al, 2008).…”

“…alboglabra), respectively. On the other hand, Pandrangi and LaBorde (2004) did not find any difference in chlorophyll a and b degradation rate, while Bergquist et al (2006) observed a decrease in chlorophyll a:b ratio. Chlorophyll retention was not affected by hot water treatment at 45 • C for 60 s in this study, which disagrees with reported observations with rocket (Koukounaras et al, 2009) and spinach (Gómez et al, 2008).…”

“…Ascorbic acid was extracted and analysed using a method described by Bergquist et al (2006) with some modifications. Spinach leaves (50.0 ± 2.0 g) were chopped with a sharp knife.…”