Influence of Fermentation Conditions on Glucosinolates, Ascorbigen, and Ascorbic Acid Content in White Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata cv. Taler) Cultivated in Different Seasons

Abstract

The content of glucosinolates (GLS), ascorbigen, and ascorbic acid in white cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata cv. Taler) cultivated in different seasons (summer and winter) was determined, before and after spontaneous and starter-induced fermentation. Different salt concentrations (0.5% NaCl or 1.5% NaCl) were used for sauerkraut production. Glucoiberin, sinigrin, and glucobrassicin were dominating in raw white cabbage cultivated either in winter or summer seasons. Ascorbigen precursor, glucobrassicin, was found higher in cabbage cultivated in winter (2.54 μmol/g dw) than those grown in summer (1.83 μmol/g dw). Cabbage fermented for 7 d was found to contain only traces of some GLS irrespective of the fermentation conditions used. Ascorbigen synthesis occurred during white cabbage fermentation. Brining cabbage at low salt concentration (0.5% NaCl) improved ascorbigen content in sauerkraut after 7 d of fermentation at 25• C. The highest ascorbigen concentration was observed in low-sodium (0.5% NaCl) sauerkraut produced from cabbage cultivated in winter submitted to either natural (109.0 μmol/100 g dw) or starter-induced fermentation (108.3 and 104.6 μmol/100 g dw in cabbages fermented by L. plantarum and L. mesenteroides, respectively). Ascorbic acid content was found higher in cabbage cultivated in summer and fermentation process led to significant reductions. Therefore, the selection of cabbages with high glucobrassicin content and the production of low-sodium sauerkrauts may provide enhanced health benefits towards prevention of chronic diseases.

Electrochemical Determination of Ascorbigen in Sauerkrauts

“…In food matrices such as sauerkraut, however, one of the most useful methods used has been the high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection HPLC-PAD (Martinez-Villaluenga et al 2009;Peñas et al 2010). Due to the importance of ABG bioactivity, the progress in analytical methods in food is still of scientific interest.…”

“…During sauerkraut preparation, indole GLS glucobrassicin (GB) yields first an unstable isothiocyanate that further degrades with loss of S to form the intermediate indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that spontaneously reacts with L-ascorbic acid forming ABG at acid pH (Zeligs 1998). It has been reported that ABG is not present in intact plant tissues (Preobrazhenskaya et al 1993) or it is present in low quantities in just shredded cabbage because a certain amount of GB might have been hydrolysed by the endogenous myrosinase as a consequence of cell damage (Ciska and Pathak 2004;Martinez-Villaluenga et al 2009;Peñas et al 2010). ABG formation is strongly dependent on the pH and the already formed ABG remains relatively stable at pH 4-5 characteristics of fermented cabbage products (Aleksandrova et al 1992).…”

Physicochemical Quality Changes in Chinese Cabbage with Storage Period and Temperature: A Review

“…In addition, one study observed fermentationconditiondependent changes in the GSL content of white cabbages harvested by season (Villaluenga et al, 2009).…”

Preliminary studies on using LAB strains isolated from spontaneous sauerkraut fermentation in combination with mineral salt, herbs and spices in sauerkraut and sauerkraut juice fermentations

“…The selection criteria for lactic acid bacteria used in vegetable and vegetable juice fermentations has been summarised in 1993 by Buckenhüskes (Buckenhüskes 1993, Daeschel et al 1987, Lücke et al 1990, Buckenhüskes 1992. Daeschel and Fleming (1984) have also discussed the selection of lactic acid bacteria to be used in vegetable fermentations and the use of starters has further been studied in several works (Frank 1973, Flem-ing et al 1985, Buckenhüskes et al 1986, Delclos 1992, Harris et al 1992, Breidt et al 1993, Breidt et al 1995, Halasz et al 1999, Savard et al 2000, Gardner et al 2001, Tolonen et al 2002, Wiander and Ryhänen 2005, Johanningsmeier et al 2007, Wiander and Ryhänen 2007, Wiander and Ryhänen 2008, Martinez-Villaluenga et al 2009, Penas et al 2010. Commercial starters are available on the market, but they are not widely used in sauerkraut and sauerkraut juice fermentations.…”