Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXI
Written by Giorgiana M. CĂTUNESCU, Ioan ROTAR, Roxana VIDICAN, Ancuţa M. ROTAR

Vitamin C and total polyphenols are quality markers used to assess the effect of treatments and storage on foodstuffs. Although, the effect of other conventional shelf-extension method is well established, refrigeration was taken for granted and rather neglected. The present study aims to describe its influence on three minimally processed herbs stored at 4°C for 12 days: parsley (Petroselinum crispum), dill (Anethum graveolens) and lovage (Levisticum officinale). The content of ascorbic acid and total polyphenols was determined on methanolic extracts. Ascorbic acid was separated, identified and dosed using HPLC coupled with an UV–VIS detector. Total polyphenols were determined spectrophotometrically, following Folin-Ciocalteu method. On the first day of storage, the content of vitamin C was above 170 mg/100 FW for the three herbs: dill had the highest content, followed by parsley and lovage, statistically similar. During the 12 days of storage, the content of vitamin C decreased by 18% for parsley, by 8% for lovage and by 3% for dill. At the beginning of the study, lovage had the highest content of total phenols followed by parsley and dill. On day 5 of storage, the content increased, reaching the maximum values for the three herbs and then it decreased below the levels of the first day. It was noted that during the 12 days of study, the evolution of total polyphenols at refrigeration temperature was given by a function of second degree. Thus, the present study confirms that vitamin C can be successfully used as a quality marker for herbs due to its low stability during storage. The evolution of total phenols is polynomial, reaching its peak during the shelf-life of herbs.

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