Impact of Cooking Treatments on the Nutritive and Antioxidative Components of Spinach Beet (Beta vulgaris Var. Bengalensis)

Effect of different cooking methods on vitamin C, Total Phenolic Content (TPC), total carotenoid, ß-carotene content and antioxidant activity of spinach beet, one of the most commonly consumed green leafy vegetables in India was studied. The vitamin C content in raw sample was 37.51 mg/100g FW. Vitamin C content decreased significantly (p<0.05) by all the cooking methods compared to raw. Carotenoid content decreased by all the cooking methods except for microwave cooked sample which increased slightly upon cooking but not significantly (p<0.05). Total phenolic content of the cooked and uncooked vegetable ranged from 99.36 mg gallic acid equivalent per 100g fresh weight (GAE/100g FW) in boiled sample to 155.21 mg GAE/100g FW in microwave cooked sample. Water cooking treatments reduced the TPC of vegetables. Raw spinach beet had the total antioxidant activity of 53.31 per cent which significantly (p<0.05) increased by 11.48 to 23.79 per cent upon cooking by different cooking methods.