Chromatographic evaluation of chlorophyll derivatives in pasta‐based food products: effects of pasteurization treatments and correlation with sensory profiles

Abstract

AbstractBACKGROUND: The degree of greenness, attributed to chlorophyll pigments, is important in determining the final quality and consumer appeal of processed industrial food. Thermal pasteurization treatments are usually applied to improve the mechanical and microbiological stability of pasta: this research study was focused on the investigation of the effects from these treatments on chlorophylls and their derivatives. A second aim was the correlation between the organoleptic changes and the decomposition of chlorophylls present in spinach filled pasta.RESULTS: High‐performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection and liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry were used to separate and characterize pigments in dried spinach lasagna. The progressive reduction of chlorophylls and the simultaneous increase in derivatives were followed in the production steps. Furthermore, chlorophyll‐derived pigments present in spinach‐filled pasta products were monitored during shelf‐life: a complete degradation was confirmed around the sixth to seventh month, in agreement with the corresponding organoleptic tests.CONCLUSION: The adopted chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques have proven to be successful in the estimation of pigment stability during steam treatments used for the production of dried spinach pasta. The possibility of exploiting chlorophylls and pheophytins as good markers for predicting the shelf‐life of food products enriched with edible grasses has also been demonstrated, correlating analytical measurements with sensory profiles. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry