Barbara Borczak

Hydrothermal Processing on Phenols and Polyphenols in Vegetables

Abstract Fruit and vegetables are usually the first food products to be mentioned as potential sources of antioxidative compounds in the daily diet. Vegetables may be eaten raw or cooked. Often they are frozen and stored in that state for an extended period of time. Technological procedures to which vegetables are subjected prior to their consumption may affect qualitative and quantitative changes in their chemical compositions. Similarly, the polyphenolic compounds and their antioxidant activity are strongly dependent on the technological treatments. These compounds are water soluble; it is therefore expected that hydrothermal processes in particular may contribute to their losses. Knowledge of the factors and their impact on the content of phenolic compounds in vegetables may lead to the selection of technological processes and culinary processing, which allow the most optimal retention of these components.

Effect of Package Type on Selected Parameters of Nutritional Quality of Chill-Stored White Sauerkraut

Abstract Brassica vegetables, including white cabbage, both fresh and sour (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.), contain a lot of valuable metabolites which are effective in chemoprevention of cancer as documented by numerous studies. This work investigates the effect of different packaging types; low density polyethylene (PE-LD) and metalized polyethylene terephthalate (PET met/PE) with polyethylene bags on selected quality parameters in chill-stored white sauerkraut. Sauerkraut was subjected to refrigerated storage for 4 months. Every month, stored sauerkraut was analyzed in terms of vitamin C, total phenolic compounds content and antioxidant activity. Statistical analysis demonstrated that the type of packaging had a significant influence on the antioxidant activity of chilled stored sauerkraut.

Impact of Different Packaging Systems on Selected Antioxidant Properties of Frozen-Stored Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis)

Abstract Brassica vegetables, including cauliflower, are characterized by a high number of valuable metabolites, which act effectively in the cancer chemoprevention, as was already revealed by several studies. This work investigates the effect of the type of container: low density polyethylene (PE-LD) packages and oriented polystyrene (OPS) packages on selected quality parameters in frozen cauliflower. The vegetable was subjected to blanching, freezing and 3 months of storage. At every stage of the experiment, the material was examined in terms of: dry matter, vitamin C, total polyphenols content, and antioxidant activity. Statistical analysis proved that the type of container had no considerable effect on the levels of the aforementioned constituents and antioxidant activity in the freeze-stored vegetables.