Quality characteristics of white cabbage juice stored using thermal processing and addition of chemical additives

Abstract

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) is one of the most important vegetables grown worldwide. Cabbage is valued for medicinal purposes in treating headaches, gout, diarrhea and peptic ulcers. The beneficial phytochemicals in cabbage help to activate and stabilize the body’s antioxidant and detoxification mechanisms that dismantle and eliminate cancer-producing substances. This seasonal vegetable can be made available for the consumers in off seasons also in the form of juice. The juice can be made shelf stable by using thermal treatment and various chemical additives. Therefore, the aim of the experiment was to compare the effect of different chemical additives namely Sodium benzoate, Potassium metabisulfite (KMS) and their combinations and the heat treatment, on the physicochemical, phytochemical parameters and antioxidant activity of Cabbage juice for a period of 6 months at room temperature at the regular intervals.The parameters like TS and TSS did not change significantly. The minimum increase in acidity was found in samples treated with combination of Sodium benzoate and Potassium metabisulfite. The color was best preserved by addition of KMS where the L value changed from 52.66 to 50.86 after 6 months. The ascorbic acid, total phenol content and antioxidant activity was best preserved by KMS with final values of 2.51 mg/100 g, 21.18 mg/100 g and 15.97 % respectively that were far better than the thermally treated samples with values 1.47 mg/100 g, 8.14 mg/100 g and 6.98 % respectively. Keeping in view all the parameters KMS was found to be the most appropriate agent for preservation.