Studies regarding Dry Matter, Ascorbic Acid and Acidity Content in Chinese Cabbage (Brassica campestris var. pekinensis)

Abstract

Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris var. pekinensis, syn Brassica rapa var. pekinensis),is a delicious vegetable that has been used extensively in Asian cooking for centuries. Being part ofthe Brassicaceae family it contents a lot of vitamins and minerals, as well as active compounds, whoseproperties on the health are well demonstrated. The studies regarding dry matter, ascorbic acid and theacidity content was realized in the spring of 2011, in the University of Agricultural Sciences andVeterinary Medicine from Cluj-Napoca. In the research were used five variants, four hybrids(‘Michihli`, ‘Kingdom 80`, ‘Nepa F1` and ‘Vitimo F1`) and one variety (‘Granat`). After harvest somelaboratory analysis were made to establish the mentioned features. To obtain more accurate resultsregarding the dry matter content in Chinese cabbage, this characteristic was analyzed in four differentpoints of the leaves: in the top, in the middle of the leaf, and also in the starting point of the ribs and inthe petiole. The average dry matter content of the five variants was 5.06%, the lowest percent (4.4%)being recorded at ‘Granat` variety, while the highest value (5.63%) at ‘Nepa F1` hybrid. The aciditycontent varied between 0.080 % (at ‘Granat` variety) and 0.148 % (at ‘Vitimo F1` hybrid), while theaverage content was 0.118%. The vitamin C content of Chinese cabbage after National NutrientDatabase for Standard Reference is 27 mg/100 g fresh matter, although Jagdish et al. (2007) in theirstudies found that ascorbic acid content varied between 5.62-12.6 mg/100 g fresh matter. In this studythe average vitamin C content was 44.0 mg/100, the highest value (59.84 mg/100 g) being registeredat ‘Vitimo F1` hybrid, the lowest one (24.64 mg/100 g) at Kingdom 80 hybrid.