TY - JOUR 
A1 - Martínez-Hernández, Ginés Benito
T1 - Innovative minimal processing of mini broccoli for keeping quality and safety and enhancing bioactive compounds
Y1 - 2012
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10317/3148
AB - [ENG] Broccoli has been described as the ‘super–vegetable’ in the media after a great number of epidemiological and laboratory studies on this Brassica specie. These studies have shown numerous health–promoting properties of broccoli such as chemopreventive, antioxidant, antitumor, antimutagenicity, anti–inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral and reduction of coronary heart disease risk. These properties are related to the high content of broccoli in phenolic compounds, glucosinolates (isothiocyanates –ITC–), carotenoids, vitamins, fatty acids, minerals, etc. For these reasons, the broccoli consumption has been promoted, unless the Spanish consumers are still reluctant to this vegetable due to its slightly bitter and astringent flavour and sulphur aromas (when cooked). In order to promote its consumption, the breeding companies have developed natural broccoli hybrids with other Brassica species with milder flavour than conventional varieties, such as the kailan or Chinese broccoli. This new kailan–hybrid broccoli is a vegetable with remarkable more pleasant flavour and aroma than the conventional broccoli varieties, and with a bioactive and nutritive profile similar to that of broccoli and kailan. Kailan–hybrid broccoli assembles the requirements for an excellent vegetable for the minimal processing or fresh–cut (FC) and fifth range product industries. However, the processing and storage of FC and fifth range commodities imply important changes on the physicochemical, microbial, sensory, bioactive and nutritional quality of them. Furthermore, the association of foodborne outbreaks with these products has considerably increased during the last years. In this way, and due to the undesirable by–products derived of the commonly used NaClO as sanitizer agent by the FC and fifth range industry, it is imperative to optimise the emerging NaClO–alternative sanitising treatments for the kailan–hybrid broccoli. Among them, the electrolysed water (EW), ultraviolet C light (UV–C) and the superatmospheric oxygen packaging (HO) have been studied. This Ph. D. Thesis covers many of the above mentioned research needs. In addition, the real health benefits of the consumption of this kailan–hybrid broccoli (raw or cooked) have been studied in vivo, obtaining a complete scientific–technologic knowledge of this particular vegetable from farm to human cells. The research works have been performed within the Postharvest and Refrigeration Group and the Food Quality and Health Department of the Institute of Plant Biotechnology of the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT, Cartagena, Spain). Some equipment of the Centro Tecnológico Nacional de la Conserva y la Alimentación (Molina de Segura, Murcia, Spain) and the Centro de Cualificación Turística (Murcia, Spain) have been also used in the experiments. The volunteer’s recruitment and sampling for the in vivo studies were accomplished in the Nutrition Department of the Hospital General Universitario Reina Sofía (Murcia, Spain).
KW - Broccoli
KW - Coronary heart disease risk
KW - Brassica specie
KW - Kailan
KW - Instituto de Biotecnología Vegetal (IBV)
KW - Bimi
KW - Brócoli
KW - Col verde china
KW - Enfermedades cardiovasculares
KW - Formación de cataratas
LA - eng
PB - Ginés Benito Martínez Hernández
ER -