Postharvest Changes in the Nutritional Properties of Commercial and Traditional Lettuce Varieties in Relation with Overall Visual Quality

Abstract

Nowadays the cultivation and consumption of traditional lettuce varieties are growing as they are particularly appealing to consumers for their diversity, and high nutraceutical quality. However, lettuce is a highly perishable product, which results in significant nutritional loss from harvest to final consumers. In this work, the content of some bioactive compounds (chlorophylls, carotenoids, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, phenols), overall antioxidant capacity and mineral content was monitored in five landraces and four commercial lettuce varieties to compare their variation during the storage period. Visual characterization was conducted during the postharvest period, as was the determination of the parameters indicative of oxidative stress, to establish the preservation capacity of their physico-chemical attributes. As a general trend, lettuce varieties showed individualized behavior during the postharvest period, which was not necessarily better in the commercial varieties compared to the landraces. Of all the varieties, landrace L10 stood out for not showing excessive variations in its general appearance or nutritional quality throughout its life cycle. However, in terms of initial concentration of bioactive compounds, the reddest varieties (CL4 and L11) stand out. These results indicate variability among varieties, which emphasizes the potential of lettuce landraces in postharvest practices.

Effects of NaCl and CaCl2 as Eustress Factors on Growth, Yield, and Mineral Composition of Hydroponically Grown Valerianella locusta

“…Reducing the nitrate content of leafy vegetables is considered important for human health after the raising of several concerns in recent decades [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. These concerns are hard to prove either way, due to inconsistent results of epidemiological studies that explore the association of dietary nitrate and different types of cancer [ 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 ].…”

“…In terms of nutritional and agronomical characteristics, depending on the cultivation method, yield, nitrate levels, and the quality of corn salad can differ [ 27 ]. Towards that end, several concerns have been raised in recent decades regarding the nitrate content of vegetables [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Enhancing sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) resilience grown in cadmium-contaminated saline soil: a synergistic approach using Moringa leaf extract and effective microorganisms application

“…This significant improvement could be attributed to the effective role of MLE as a good source of amino acids, phenolic acids, nutrients, soluble sugars, and antioxidants like ascorbate and free proline (Table S1 ), which subsequently enhanced the accumulation of these antioxidants and enabled sweet potato plants to tolerate Cd 2+ and salinity stress. Besides, its considerable levels of carotenoids (α, β carotene, lutein, and xanthin) have potent antioxidant properties (Irshad et al 2022 ; Khan et al 2022 ; Martínez-ispizua et al 2022a ). A similar finding was observed by Zulfiqar et al ( 2020 ) and Khalofah et al ( 2020 ), who reported that MLE application caused a considerable increase in GR, SOD, and APX antioxidants in common bean plants.…”

Antibacterial effect of ultrasound and β-citronellol against Listeria monocytogenes and its application in carrot preservation

“…Ten assessors with experience in fruit and vegetable assessment were invited to form an assessment panel to evaluate the samples. Referring to the method of Wang et al [32] and Martínez-Ispizua E et al [33] , carrot slices from the different treatments were randomly numbered and each sample was assessed by expert panelists for color, odor, texture, physiological disorder, overall visual acceptability. The sensory criteria was as follows: color, 5 = very good/bright, 3 = medium/dull, 1 = poor/dull; odour, 5 = very good/fresh/noticeable carrot flavour, 3 = medium, 1 = poor/absent/untypical; texture: 5 = very good/fresh/crunchy, 3 = medium/crunchy, 1 = poor/fluffy; physiological disorder: 5 = absent, 3 = medium, 1 = severe; overall visual acceptability: 5 = very good/fresh appearance, 3 = moderate, 1 = poor/not fresh appearance.…”