Lebensm.-Wiss. u.-Technol.

, 33, 295}298 (2000)

E!ect of Blanching and Drying Methods on b-Carotene,

Ascorbic acid and Chlorophyll Retention of Leafy
Vegetables
P. S. Negi* and S. K. Roy

Division of Fruits and Horticultural Technology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012 (India)
(Received September 1, 1999; accepted February 24, 2000)

Leaves of savoy beet (Beta vulgaris var bengalensis), amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum)
were subjected to diwerent blanching and drying treatments to establish the retention of b-carotene, ascorbic acid and chlorophyll. The
vegetables were blanched at 95$3 3C in (i) water, (ii) water followed by potassium metabisulphite (KMS) dip, (iii) salt solution, (iv) salt
solution followed by KMS dip, and (v) mixture of sodium bicarbonate, magnesium oxide and KMS and dried in (a) sun, (b) shade,
(c) solar drier, (d) cabinet drier, and (e) low temperature drier. Method (ii) was found most suitable for blanching and selected
for subsequent drying and method (e) had least drastic ewect on b-carotene, ascorbic acid and chlorophyll content of the processed
product.

 2000 Academic Press

Keywords: ascorbic acid; b-carotene; blanching; chlorophyll; drying; vegetables

Introduction Several researchers have studied the e!ect of di!erent

Certain green leafy vegetables are a rich source of b-
carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, and grown abundant-
ly in India. Besides b-carotene, these vegetables are a rich
source of ascorbic acid, iron, zinc, folate and dietary "bre.
It is often noticed that the leaves of some vegetables are
rejected despite their high nutritional value (1). Seasonal-
ity can be overcome by suitable processing methods and
storage. Blanching is a primary step in processing of
vegetables. Despite its preserving advantage, it leads to
nutrient degradation, particularly of vitamins, and loss of
colour. Duration and temperature of blanching inacti-
vate particular enzymes; overblanching may result in an
undesirable loss of colour, #avour, texture and nutrient
quality in addition to excessive energy requirement and
water disposal. Peroxidase is one of the most heat stable
enzymes and is often used as an index of blanching (2).
Peroxidase inactivation is faster at higher temperatures
(3). Selman (4) reported that controlled blanching
can contribute to retention of vitamins and nutrients in
processed foods.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Current a$liation:
Department of Human Resource Development, Central Food Techno-
logical Research Institute, Mysore 570 013, India.
0023-6438/00/040295#04 $35.00/0
 2000 Academic Press
processing methods on the level of carotenoids. Speek
et al. (5) reported substantial losses of b-carotene during
processing in di!erent vegetables, but little or no change
(6) or an increase in carotenoid levels as a result of
processing (7) are also noticed depending on procedure.
Onayemi and Badifu (8) reported higher losses of ascor-
bic acid of amaranth in water blanching followed by sun
drying than steam blanching and cabinet drying. Due to
high z-value of spinach chlorophyll, a high temperature
and short time treatment can increase chlorophyll reten-
tion (9), but Loaf and Thung (10) reported improvement
in colour of processed spinach by blanching at 65 3C for
up to 45 min. Bajaj et al. (11) recommended objective
based blanching treatments for improvement of various
parameters. In light of such contradictory reports, an
attempt was made to analyse the e!ect of di!erent blanc-
hing and drying conditions on b-carotene, ascorbic acid
and chlorophyll retention of selected leafy vegetables
grown in India.
Materials and Methods
Sample preparation
Savoy beet, commonly known as Palak (Beta vulgaris
var bengalensis cv. &Pusa jyoti'); Fenugreek (¹rigonella
doi:10.1006/fstl.2000.0659
All articles available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on

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foenum graecum cv. &Pusa early bunching') and Amaranth
(Amaranthus tricolor cv. &Pusa kiran') were harvested
manually at the research farm in the early hours of the
morning, quickly transported to the laboratory and
washed.
Blanching
Washed leaves were blanched in i) plain water; ii) plain
water followed by potassium metabisulphite (KMS) dip
(5 g/L in water) for 1 min; iii) water containing salt
(20 g/L NaCl in water); iv) salt solution (20 g/L NaCl in
water) followed by KMS dip (5 g/L in water) for 1 min;
and v) mixture of sodiumbicarbonate (1 g/L in water),
magnesium oxide (5 g/L in water) and KMS (5 g/L in
water) at 95$3 3C for times ranging from 30 s to 180 s.
The adequacy of treatment was judged by residual per-
oxidase activity (12). Retention of b-carotene, ascorbic
acid and chlorophyll was analysed under di!erent
blanching conditions and the best blanching method was
selected for further drying.
Drying
Five drying methods; a) sun, b) shade, c) solar, d) cabinet
(65$5 3C), and e) low temperature (30$2 3C); with
a uniform tray load of 1.25}1.50 kg/m were followed
until the sample contained 7}9% moisture. Dried sam-
ples were collected in 200 gauge high density polyethy-
lene (HDPE) bags and kept for moisture equilibrium
before being subjected to further analysis.
Analysis
For estimation of residual peroxidase activity, small pie-
ces of blanched sample were placed in a vial and to it
1 mL guaiacol (1 mL/100 mL ethyl alcohol) and 1 mL
hydrogen peroxide (0.5 mL/30 mL water) were added.
No discoloration of sample was observed after 3 min
con"rmed absence of peroxidase activity (12). Moisture
of the sample was estimated by drying in a hot air oven at
65$5 3C until constant weight was achieved (12). For b-
carotene determination (13), the sample (5.0 g fresh or
1.0 g dried) was extracted with acetone (20 mL portions)
until the residue became colourless. The extracts were
transferred to a separating funnel, and water (50 mL) and
petroleum ether (10 mL) were added. The water acetone
layer was drawn into another separating funnel and
reextracted using the same procedure. The petroleum
ether extract collected from all the extractions was passed
through anhydrous sodium sulphate and volume was
made up to 50 mL. This extract (5 mL) was loaded onto
a 10 cm long column of supercel and magnesium oxide
(3 : 1) overlaid by 1 cm length of anhydrous sodium
sulphate. The column was washed using eluent (3 mL
acetone : 97 mL petroleum ether) until the b-carotene
moved o! the column and the "ltrate became colourless.
The contents were diluted to 100 mL with eluent. The
intensity of colour was measured at 450 nm using a spe-
ctrophotometer (Spectronic 20, Milton Roy, U.S.A.).
Concentration of b-carotene was determined from the
standard curve.
For ascorbic acid determination, sample (5.0 g fresh or
1.0 g dried) was extracted in metaphosphoric acid (30 g/L
in water). The extract was titrated against the 2,6-dich-
lorophenol-indophenol dye of known strength (13). Total
chlorophyll content was determined by the method of
Hiscox and Israelstam (14). One hundred mg of leaf
fraction was placed in a vial containing 7 mL of di-
methyl sulphoxide and chlorophyll was extracted at
65 3C by incubating for 3 h. The extract was "ltered and
made up to 10 mL with dimethyl sulphoxide. The inten-
sity of colour was measured at 645 and 663 nm using a

Table 1 Retention of b-carotene (mg/100 g)* during processing

Savoy beet Amaranth Fenugreek

Fresh Dry Fresh Dry Fresh Dry

weight weight weight weight weight weight
Processing condition basis basis basis basis basis basis

Fresh Vegetable 7.32$0.48 84.1$4.3 9.79$0.51 59.4$4.6 5.34$0.36 36.3$2.4

Blanching condition
Water 5.44$0.29 41.0$2.7 6.78$0.43 54.9$2.6 2.55$0.19 29.9$2.1
Water and KMS 6.25$0.28 41.8$2.3 8.81$0.49 58.5$2.2 3.17$0.14 33.2$1.8
Salt solution 5.11$0.24 39.1$2.1 7.15$0.57 57.2$2.1 3.00$0.17 27.4$1.9
Salt solution and KMS 5.26$0.28 38.0$1.9 7.74$0.52 56.6$2.3 3.55$0.22 30.9$2.2
Mixture 4.81$0.19 41.1$2.5 6.66$0.66 56.8$2.5 2.78$0.21 31.8$2.4
(NaHCO , MgO and KMS)

CD (0.05) 0.58 6.0 0.86 7.8 0.39 2.0
Drying condition
Sun 26.2$2.4 26.8$2.5 10.3$0.6 10.8$0.7 14.0$0.4 15.0$0.5
Solar 28.6$2.6 29.7$2.7 11.8$0.8 12.2$0.9 15.9$0.7 17.9$0.9
Shade 22.7$2.2 23.9$2.3 13.3$0.6 13.8$0.6 14.3$0.7 16.3$0.9
Cabinet 28.4$2.5 29.3$2.6 31.3$1.2 33.2$1.3 25.9$0.9 26.5$1.0
Low temperature 32.2$2.7 33.4$2.9 27.3$1.0 28.8$1.1 27.4$0.8 30.9$0.9
CD (0.05) 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.8 1.8

* mean value and s corresponding to three replications



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Table 2 Retention of ascorbic acid (mg/100 g)* during processing

Savoy beet Amaranth Fenugreek

Fresh Dry Fresh Dry Fresh Dry

weight weight weight weight weight weight
Processing condition basis basis basis basis basis basis

Fresh Vegetable 41.3$2.4 467.2$23.6 68.8$2.8 464.3$22.9 163.5$8.6 1047.4$44.6

Blanching condition
Water 10.5$0.5 79.1$3.8 22.7$1.6 183.2$9.7 56.0$2.7 659.0$32.2
Water and KMS 10.5$0.6 70.3$3.2 28.2$1.5 187.6$9.0 54.3$2.2 572.0$27.5
Salt solution 8.8$0.4 67.1$3.0 22.6$1.2 180.8$8.6 56.1$2.4 511.1$22.8
Salt solution and KMS 8.8$0.5 63.4$2.9 22.6$1.4 165.6$7.9 54.3$2.3 474.0$20.6
Mixture 7.6$0.4 65.1$2.9 22.6$1.3 193.2$9.3 54.3$2.7 628.0$29.8
(NaHCO , MgO and KMS)

CD (0.05) 1.2 20.0 4.9 37.0 1.0 76.5
Drying condition
Sun 11.5$0.7 11.8$0.7 31.6$1.3 33.0$1.5 128.2$5.6 136.7$5.9
Solar 11.9$0.8 12.4$0.9 34.5$1.2 35.7$1.5 407.8$25.6 457.2$29.2
Shade 20.8$1.2 21.9$1.6 24.7$1.1 27.1$1.2 250.0$15.6 284.6$17.4
Cabinet 14.5$1.1 15.6$1.2 33.0$1.5 34.4$1.7 480.8$24.0 490.8$28.9
Low temperature 34.4$1.8 35.0$2.1 131.6$6.6 139.0$7.2 461.5$22.5 520.3$24.8
CD (0.05) 10.3 10.6 8.7 9.2 15.9 77.9

* mean value and s corresponding to three replications



spectrophotometer (Spectronic 20) and chlorophyll con- Standardization of drying

tent was calculated by Arnon's formula (15).
Results and Discussion
Standardization of blanching
The peroxidase inactivation was dependent on temper-
ature and additives to the blanching medium and mass of
vegetable pieces. The peroxidase activity of savoy beet,
amaranth and fenugreek was reduced to negligible
amounts in 60 s at 95$3 3C in water followed by potas-
sium metabisulphite (KMS) dip. In the case of spinach,
the same was achieved at 85 3C in 30 s or 95 3C in 15 s (5).
Okoli et al. (16) also reported that blanching of spinach
and amaranth for 1 min at 95 3C was su$cient for the
negative peroxidase test, whereas 3}6 min steam or hot
water blanching (97}99 3C) is necessary for A. hybridus to
achieve the same e!ect (8). Blanching of Fenugreek leaves
at 99 3C for 2 min was considered adequate for reduction
of su$cient peroxidase activity (11).
The leaching losses of b-carotene, ascorbic acid and
chlorophyll during processing are presented in Tables
1d3. Sulphur treatment preventing leaching losses and
retention of b-carotene, ascorbic acid and chlorophyll
was better in hot water at 95$3 3C for 60 s followed by
KMS (5 g/L in water) dip for 1 min. It was therefore
judged the best treatment and was used for further drying
of vegetables. Similar observations of losses during heat
treatment, viz. 25% reduction in vitamin A activity of
spinach by cooking (17) and almost 20% reduction per
min of chlorophyll during heating at 100 3C in Amaran-
thus hybridus (18) are available in the literature. Higher
retention of ascorbic acid and chlorophyll in fenugreek
by blanching at 99 3C for 2 min followed by KMS treat-
ment are also reported (11).
Drying losses of di!erent crops show that sun drying and
shade drying resulted in maximum loss of b-carotene,
ascorbic acid and chlorophyll, whereas solar drying was
at par with cabinet drying. Low temperature drying
(30$2 3C) gave maximum retention of di!erent con-
stituents. Low temperature drying has shown promising
results, probably because of less harsh conditions during
drying. Higher losses of total carotene and ascorbic
acid in open sun drying as compare to enclosed drier
have been previously reported for leaves of cassava,
cow pea and African spinach (19). Higher losses in
shade drying may be due to longer time of drying.
Carotene is degraded by free radical oxidation
mechanism and the degree of oxidation depends on
drying temperature (20). Schwartz and Lorenzo (21) re-
ported that chlorophyll is sensitive to heat and its reten-
tion is a!ected by temperature and duration of heat
treatment.
Conclusion
Ascorbic acid and b-carotene were sensitive to heat and
oxidation during blanching and drying. Loss of vitamins
and chlorophyll in leafy vegetables during blanching
necessiates a proper combination of time and temper-
ature for blanching. Potassium metabisulphite treatment
successfully reduced losses of b-carotene, ascorbic acid
and chlorophyll during blanching of savoy beet, ama-
ranth and fenugreek. Low temperature drying at
30$2 3C resulted in better retention of b-carotene, as-
corbic acid and chlorophyll as compared with sun, shade,
solar and cabinet drying.

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Table 3 Retention of chlorophyll (mg/g)* during processing

Savoy beet Amaranth Fenugreek

Fresh Dry Fresh Dry Fresh Dry

weight weight weight weight weight weight
Processing condition basis basis basis basis basis basis

Fresh Vegetable 1.16$0.06 13.1$0.6 1.41$0.07 8.9$0.5 2.01$0.08 15.7$0.9

Blanching condition
Water 1.02$0.05 7.6$0.4 0.81$0.04 6.6$0.3 1.15$0.05 13.5$0.8
Water and KMS 1.42$0.07 9.5$0.5 1.10$0.05 7.3$0.4 1.31$0.06 13.8$0.7
Salt solution 1.06$0.05 8.1$0.4 0.77$0.03 6.1$0.3 1.13$0.05 10.3$0.5
Salt solution and KMS 1.31$0.07 9.5$0.5 0.90$0.04 6.6$0.3 1.12$0.06 9.8$0.5
Mixture 1.20$0.06 10.6$0.5 0.83$0.04 7.3$0.4 1.15$0.06 13.1$0.6
(NaHCO , MgO and KMS)

CD (0.05) 0.11 1.5 0.14 1.0 0.11 1.6
Drying condition
Sun 7.77$0.42 7.9$0.4 2.95$0.30 3.1$0.3 5.93$0.6 6.3$0.4
Solar 8.53$0.48 8.9$0.5 3.14$0.31 3.2$0.3 5.93$0.7 6.3$0.7
Shade 7.58$0.41 8.0$0.4 3.48$0.33 3.6$0.4 6.93$0.7 7.9$0.9
Cabinet 5.86$0.38 6.1$0.4 4.26$0.39 4.5$0.5 7.08$0.7 7.2$0.8
Low temperature 8.65$0.49 9.0$0.5 3.97$0.37 4.2$0.5 6.19$0.6 7.0$0.8
CD (0.05) 0.45 0.5 0.30 0.3 0.27 0.3

* mean value and s corresponding to three replications



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