Effect of ozone and storage time on the physicochemical characteristics of minimally processed green asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.)

Pretell-Vásquez C.; Márquez-Villacorta L.; Siche R.; Hayayumi-Valdivia M. · Ciencia Tecnologia Agropecuaria (2020) · DOI: 10.21930/rcta.vol21_num3_art:1506

Resumen

Peru is one of the world’s leading producers of green asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.), an extremely perishable vegetable due to its high respiration rate and metabolism. Hence, it is imperative to preserve the quality characteristics of its shoots. For this, we evaluated the effect of gaseous ozone (0-10 ppm) and storage time (0-30 days) on weight loss, luminosity, firmness, chlorophyll content, and lignin content. The response surface methodology was used, applying a rotatable central composite design. The results suggested a significant influence of the independent variables on the studied physicochemical characteristics and adequate goodness of fit of the quadratic regression model. We concluded, using the contour technique, that the optimal conditions for the highest retention of firmness (11.42N), chlorophyll content (12.33 mg/100 g), and lignin content (7 mg/100 g) are 6.98 ppm gaseous ozone for 30 days of storage to preserve the quality of the shoots.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Trujillo; Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego