The variation of the ascorbic acid content from potato tubers during storage, under house cellar conditions

Abstract

This work pointed out the change of the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) content from potato tubers, stored for three months under apartment house cellar conditions. The ascorbic acid content from potato tubers has decreased by 26.23% (as compared to the ascorbic acid content determined at harvesting), after the first 30 days of storage, by 40% (as compared to the ascorbic acid content determined at 30 days of storage) after 60 days, and only by 10.5% (as compared to the ascorbic acid content determined at 60 days of storage), after 90 days of storage. After 90 days of storage, the initial content of the ascorbic acid from potatoes stored in wooden boxes has decreased by 60.38%. The ascorbic acid content from potatoes, stored in tightly closed glass jars, was less modified. Thus, the determinations carried out and reported at the same time intervals have shown that, after 30 days of storage, the values of the ascorbic acid content have decreased by 10.5%, after other 30 days, by 6.72% and after the last 30 days, by 4.46%. After 90 days of storage under these conditions, the initial content of the ascorbic acid from potato tubers was diminished by 20.22%. The greater the average temperature of the analysed interval was, the greater the diminution in the acid ascorbic content of stored potatoes was. By comparing the results of analyses carried out on potato tubers stored in wooden boxes and in tightly closed glass jars to potato tubers at harvesting, we found out that the diminution in the ascorbic acid content was much more reduced (about 20%) in the tubers kept in closed vessels, because, in that case, the storage conditions have limited the oxidation process of this biocatalyser.