Effect of Widely Used Thermal Processes on Surface Color, Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity of White Cabbage

Abstract

Cabbage is an economically and nutritionally important vegetable. Cabbage are widely consumed in almost every region of the world as a food. In this study, we investigated the effect of domestic cooking methods (steaming, boiling, microwave and stir-frying) on the surface color, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of white cabbage. Total phenolic content of white cabbage was 12975.47 mg gallic acid eq. kg-1 DW, and bound phenolics comprise a 38.56% of total phenolic content. All cooking methods, except steaming method, cause significant reduction in free and total phenolic contents of white cabbage (p<0.05). The highest decrease have been observed in free phenolic content of boiled cabbage samples, and bounded phenolic content of stir-fried cabbage samples. The results show that to preserve the nutritional quality of white cabbage during cooking, steaming is the best procedure. © 2016, Centenary University. All rights reserved.