Broccoli was blanched and frozen at industrial scale to ascertain the physical and nutritional changes that take place in industrial processing. Colour, texture, ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acids, glucosinolates, phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, mineral nutrients and microstructure were evaluated. Blanching and freezing caused a decrease in lightness and firmness. Losses of phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid + dehydroascorbic acid reached about 57% and 30%, respectively. The antioxidant capacity was similar in fresh and treated broccoli, and the glucosinolates remained constant. These results show that frozen broccoli retains antioxidants compounds, vitamin C and glucosinolates even after industrial processing, meaning that industrially frozen broccoli intended for human consumption can be considered rather similar to the fresh product.
Agricultural Research Service-U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2018). National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 28. Beltsville, MD: Agricultural Research Service-U.S. Department of Agriculture.
2.
AiresACarvalhoRRosaE (2012) Glucosinolate composition of Brassica is affected by postharvest, food processing and myrosinase activity. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation36: 214–224.
3.
Alanís-GarzaPABecerra-MorenoAMora-NievesJLMora-MoraJPJacobo-VelázquezDA (2015) Effect of industrial freezing on the stability of chemopreventive compounds in broccoli. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition66(3): 282–288.
4.
BahceciKSSerpenAGokmenVAcarJ (2005) Study of lipoxigenase and peroxidase as indicator enzymes in green beans: change of enzyme activity, ascorbic acid and chlorophylls during frozen storage. Journal of Food Engineering66: 187–192.
5.
BennetRNMellonFAFoidlNPrattJHDupontMSPerkinsL (2003) Profiling glucosinolates and phenolics in vegetative and reproductive tissues of the multi-purpose trees Moringa oleifera L. (horseradish tree) and Moringa stenopetala L. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry51: 3546–3553.
6.
BenzieFFStrainJJ (1996) The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) as a measure of “antioxidant power”: The FRAP assay. Analytical Biochemistry239(1): 70–76.
7.
Boletín Oficial del Estado (2009) Real Decreto 1669/2009, de 6 de noviembre, por el que se modifica la norma de etiquetado sobre propiedades nutritivas de los productos alimenticios, aprobada por el Real Decreto 930/1992, de 17 de julio. Official Gazzette of the Spanish Goverment269: 92956–92959.
CaiCMiaoHQianHYaoLWangBWangQ (2016) Effects of industrial pre-freezing processing and freezing handling on glucosinolates and antioxidant attributes in broccoli florets. Food Chemistry210: 451–456.
10.
CieślikELeszcyńskaTFilipiak-FlorkiewiczASikoraEPisulewskiPM (2007) Effect of some technological processes on glucosinolate contents in cruciferous vegetables. Food Chemistry105: 976–981.
11.
FranciscoMVelascoPMorenoDAGarcía-VigueraCCarteaME (2010) Cooking methods of Brassica rapa affect the preservation of glucosinolates, phenolics and vitamin C. Food Research International43: 1455–1463.
12.
Gawlik-DzikiUJeżynaMŚwiecaMDzikiDBaraniakBCzyżJ (2012) Effect of bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds on in vitro anticancer activity of broccoli sprouts. Food Research International49: 469–476.
13.
GilMIFerreresFTomás-BarberánFA (1998) Effect of modified atmosphere packaging on the flavonoids and vitamin C content of minimally processed Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subspecies cycla). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry46: 2007–2012.
14.
Granado-LorencioFOlmedilla-AlonsoBHerrero-BarbudoCSánchez-MorenoCde AncosBMartínezJAet al.(2008) Modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) does not affect the bioavailability of tocopherols and carotenoids from broccoli in humans: A cross-over study. Food Chemistry106: 1070–1076.
15.
GreveLCShackelKAAhmadiHMcArdleRNGohlkeJRLabavitchJM (1994) Impact of heating on carrot firmness: contribution of cellular turgor. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry42: 2896–2899.
16.
IsmailAMarjanZMFoongCW (2004) Total antioxidant activity and phenolic content in selected vegetables. Food Chemistry87: 581–586.
17.
JonesRBFaragherJDWinklerS (2006) A review of the influence of postharvest treatments on quality and glucosinolate content in broccoli (Brassica oleraceae var. italica) heads. Postharvest Biology and Technology41: 1–8.
18.
KalaAPrakashJ (2004) Nutrient composition and sensory profile of different cooked green leafy vegetables. International Journal of Food Properties7: 659–669.
19.
KeckASFinleyJW (2004) Cruciferous vegetables: Cancer protective mechanisms of glucosinolate hydrolysis products and selenium. Integrative Cancer Therapies3: 5–12.
20.
Kerr WL. (2004). Texture in frozen foods. In: Hui YE, Cornillon P, Legaretta IG, Lim MH, Murrell KD and Nip W (eds) Handbook of Frozen Foods. New York: Marcel Dekker, pp. 149–150.
21.
KidmoseUMartensHJ (1999) Changes in texture, microstructure and nutritional quality of carrot slices during blanching and freezing. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture79: 1747–1753.
22.
LespinardARGoñiSMSalgadoPRMascheroniRH (2009) Experimental determination and modelling of size variation, heat transfer and quality indexes during mushroom blanching. Journal of Food Engineering92: 8–17.
23.
LisiewskaZGebczyńskiPBernaśEKmiecikW (2009) Retention of mineral constituents in frozen leafy vegetables prepared for consumption. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis22: 218–223.
24.
LochJBreeneWM (1982) Between-species differences in fracturability loss: Microscopic and chemical comparison of potato and Chinese water chestnut. Journal of Texture Studies13: 325–327.
25.
MahnAReyesA (2012) An overview of health-promoting compounds of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. Italica) and the effect of processing. Food Science and Technology International18: 503–514.
26.
MorenoDACarvajalMLópez-BerenguerCGarcía-VigueraC (2006) Chemical and biological characterisation of nutraceutical compounds from broccoli. A review. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis41: 1508–1522.
27.
Puupponen-PimiäRHäkkinenSTAarniMSuorttiTLampiAMEurolaM (2003) Blanching and long-term freezing affect various bioactive compounds of vegetables in different ways. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture83: 1389–1402.
28.
RodriguesASRosaEAS (1999) Effect of post-harvest treatments on the level of glucosinolates in broccoli. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture79: 1028–1032.
29.
ŠamecDBogovićMVincekDMartinčićJSalopek-SondiB (2014) Assessing the authenticity of the white cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba) cv. ‘Varaždinski’ by molecular and phytochemical markers. Food Research International60: 266–272.
30.
SarvanIValerioFLonigroSLde CandiaSVerkerkRDekkerMet al.(2013) Glucosinolate content of blanched cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) fermented by the probiotic strain Lactobacillus paracasei LMG-P22043. Food Research International54: 706–710.
31.
SeveriniCGiulianiRDe FilippisADerossiADe PiliT (2016) Influence of different blanching methods on colour, ascorbic acid and phenolics content of broccoli. Journal of Food Science and Technology53(1): 501–510.
32.
SoaresACarrascosaCRaposoA (2017) Influence of different cooking methods on the concentration of glucosinolates and vitamin C in broccoli. Food and Bioprocess Technology10: 1387–1411.
33.
ThomasMBadrADesjardinsYGosselinAAngersP (2018) Characterization of industrial broccoli discards (Brassica oleracea var. italica) for their glucosinolate, polyphenol and flavonoid contents using UPLC MS/MS and spectrophotometric methods. Food Chemistry245: 1204–1211.
34.
VallejoFTomás-BarberánFAGarcía-VigueraC (2002) Glucosinolates and vitamin C content in edible parts of broccoli florets after domestic cooking. European Food Research and Technology215: 310–316.
35.
VandersliceJTHiggsDJHayesJMBlockG (1990) Ascorbic acid and dehydroascorbic acid content of foods-as-eaten. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis3(2): 105–118.
36.
Vega-GálvezADi ScalaKRodríguezKLemus-MondacaRMirandaMLópezJet al.(2009) Effect of air-drying temperature on physico-chemical properties, antioxidant capacity, colour and total phenolic content of red pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. Hungarian). Food Chemistry117: 647–653.
37.
VerkerkRDekkerMJongenMF (2001) Post-harvest increase of indolyl glucosinolates in response to chopping and storage of Brassica vegetables. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture81: 953–958.
38.
ViñaSZOliveraDFMaraniCMFerreyraRMMugridgeAChavesARet al.(2007) Quality of Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea L. gemmifera DC) as affected by blanching method. Journal of Food Engineering80: 218–255.
39.
WagnerAERimbachG (2009) Ascorbigen: Chemistry, occurrence, and biologic properties. Clinics in Dermatology27: 217–224.
40.
WangSMecklingKAMarconeMFKakudaYTsaoR (2011) Can phytochemical antioxidant rich foods act as anti-cancer agents?Food Research International44: 2545–2554.
41.
WilliamsDJEdwardsDHamernigIJianLJamesAPJohnsonSKet al.(2013) Vegetables containing phytochemicals with potential anti-obesity properties: A review. Food Research International52: 323–333.
