Dietary Fibre Content and its Fractional Composition in Cabbage as Affected by Cultivar Earliness and Sauerkraut Storage Period

The aim of the study was to determine the dietary fibre content and its fractional composition in white head cabbage cultivars of different maturity earliness and also in fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) after several months of storage, as well as the level of fibre and its composition in sauerkraut in relation to the method of fermentation.

It was found that there were significant differences in fibre content and its fractions composition among the white cabbage cultivars studied. The early cultivar Tekila F₁, had a lower total fibre content and smaller cellulose and pectin fractions than the later-maturing cultivars, Tolerator F₁ and Agresor F₁. The fermented cabbage, as compared with the raw material, contained a significantly larger cellulose fraction, a significantly reduced pectin fraction, slightly reduced amounts of hemicelluloses, and a similar amount of lignin. There was no obvious effect of inoculating cabbage with starter cultures containing strains of Lactobacillus plantarum on the level of fibre and its fractions in the resulting sauerkraut in comparison with the traditionally fermented cabbage. Water-absorbing capacity of cabbage fibre depended on the cultivar, the length of sauerkraut storage period and fermentation method. The fibre of the early cabbage variety had a significantly lower water-binding capacity than the fibre of the later-maturing cultivars. Rehydration capacity of dried sauerkraut increased for up to 30 days from the end of fermentation, with longer storage period having no longer any effect on the levels of water absorption. Water-holding capacity of the fibre in the sauerkraut produced with the addition of a starter culture was lower than that of the fibre of the traditionally fermented cabbage over the entire storage period of the fermented sauerkraut samples.