La qualità nutrizionale dei vegetali: effetto della frigoconservazione sul contenuto in acido ascorbico del finocchio

In this work the nutritional quality of fennel stored under controlled conditions (90% R.H. and 6 °C) was investigated over a period of 32 days. The ascorbic acid content was chosen as "quality marker" considering also the influence of the sample size. In order to minimize the ascorbic acid losses during the analyses, a rapid extraction methodology was set up. The analytical data showed that the ascorbic acid content in the product had a sharp linear decrease after 4 days, with a total loss of about 50% of the initial content. Increasing the storage time did not further affect the ascorbic acid content of the vegetables that, afterwards, remained constant for about 2 weeks. Furthermore the ascorbic acid content was no influenced by the size of the vegetables.