Use of antioxidants in minimally processed potato

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a vegetable with an important nutritional value that can be marketed as minimally processed. The  life of these products is reduced by enzymatic browning. The high concentration of phenolic compounds gives antioxidant activity, while they are substrates for the enzymes responsible for enzymatic browning. The objective of this work was to analyze the total phenol content and the enzymatic browning of minimally processed products of three potato varieties using an antioxidant treatment (ascorbic acid and citric acid) and a control treatment, during 15 days of storage at 4 C. Innovator, was the variety that showed the least color change during storage, although it was characterized by a low content of total phenols. Newen INTA was the one that best responded to the antioxidant treatment, keeping totally acceptable products for 15 days, without perceptible color changes. Spunta was the variety with the highest total phenolic content, without showing a noticeable color change during storage with the addition of antioxidants.