Evaluation of Phenolic Constituents in fresh asparagus during cold storage : a combined electrochemical and mass-spectrometry analysis approach

Asparagus is a herbaceous perennial plant, marketed worldwide as fresh or fresh cut, very appreciate by consumers for its structural and sensory characteristic and for its nutritional properties. [1] The asparagus was a climacteric species, fresh spears deteriorate rapidly after harvest, and the high respiration rate is the main limiting factor. The refrigeration, is able to retard visual and nutritional quality loss by slowing many of the deteriorative processes.[2] In this study the effect of oxalic acid (OA) treatment on visual and nutraceutical properties of two green and one purple cultivars of fresh asparagus, during 12 storage days at 5 °C, was investigated. The aim of this work was to study the effects of postharvest treatments with OA, on the shoots of asparagus, during cold storage. Variation of the outward appearance, sensory characteristics, respiration rate and, particularly, the changes of antioxidant properties and phenol composition during cold storage, were investigated by electrochemical and mass-spectrometry analysis approach