Journal
BRITISH JOURNAL OF NUTRITION
Volume 88, Issue 6, Pages 615-623Publisher
C A B I PUBLISHING
DOI: 10.1079/BJN2002722
Keywords
plasma antioxidant capacity; modified-atmosphere packaging; vegetables; bioavailability
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The present study investigated whether storage under modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) affected the antioxidant properties of fresh lettuce (Lactuca sativa). Eleven healthy volunteers (six men, five women) consumed 250 g fresh lettuce, and blood was sampled before (0 h) and 2, 3 and 6 h after consumption. The protocol was repeated 3 d later with the same lettuce stored at 5degreesC under MAP conditions (O-2-N-2 (5:95, v/v)). Results showed that after ingestion of fresh lettuce, plasma total radical-trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP), measured as area under the curve, was significantly higher (1.3 (SEM 0.3) mmol/l per 6 h; P<0.05) than the value obtained with MAP-stored lettuce (0.1 (SEM 0.2) mmol/l per 6 h). Plasma TRAP, quercetin and p-coumaric acid were significantly different from baseline values (P:≤0.05) 2 and 3 h after fresh lettuce ingestion. Caffeic acid increased significantly at 3 h (P< 0.05). Plasma beta-carotene levels increased significantly at 6 h (P< 0.05). Vitamin C concentrations (mg/l) rose from 10.9 (SEM 2.0) to 12.7 (SEM 3.0) (P<0.001), 12.7 (SEM 2.0) (P<0.01) and 12.9 (SEM 3.0) (P<0.05) at 0, 2, 3 and 6 h respectively. No changes were observed after ingestion of MAP-stored lettuce for all the measured markers. Our present results showed that ingestion of MAP-stored lettuce does not modify plasma redox status in healthy subjects. Further research is needed to develop post-harvesting techniques able to preserve the bioactive molecule content of plant food.
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