Impact of Different Packaging Systems on Selected Antioxidant Properties of Frozen-Stored Broccoli

Broccoli has a very good nutritive value, high antioxidant activity and pro-healthy potential. Freezing is one of best methods for vegetable storage and broccoli belongs to the group of vegetables subjected to this process on an industrial scale. This work investigates the effect of type of container: low density polyethylene (PE-LD) bags and oriented polystyrene (OPS) boxes on selected quality parameters in frozen broccoli. The experimental material was the broccoli cultivar Lord_F1. The vegetable was subjected to blanching, freezing and 3-month storage. At the every stage of an experiment the material was examined in terms of: vitamin C content; β-carotene; total polyphenols; and antioxidant potential, which was determined basing on the ability to quench the ABTS˙⁺ free radical. It has been found that vegetables which were kept frozen for 3 months in two types of container had parallel levels of vitamin C, β-carotene; total polyphenols; and similar antioxidative potential.