L-ascorbic acid losses in Kenyan vegetables during cooking as determined by high performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

The loss of L-ascorbic acid (L-AA) in 14 different cooked local vegetables found in Nairobi markets was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The effect of quantity of water on the loss of L-AA during cooking was studied with cowpea leaves. It was found that more L-AA was lost when larger amount of water was used than when smaller amount was used. The effect of the sharpness of the knife on the loss of L-AA was studied with spinach. It was found that more loss of L-AA occurred when a blunt (edge thickness 0.08 cm) knife was used for cutting the vegetables than when a sharp knife (edge thickness 0.04 cm) was used during cooking. L-AA was also determined when vegetables were cooked in different size pieces (surface are >1 cm2 and Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia. ISSN: 1011-3924