Retention of quality characteristics of dehydrated green leaves during storage

Green leafy vegetables are the most underexploited class of vegetables desp ite high nutritional value. Reports on nutritional composition and storage of some of the fresh leaves are available but the storage behavior of dehyd rated leaves apparently has not been studied. Therefore, in the present stu dy, two green leafy vegetables, savoy beets (Beta vulgaris var. bengalensis ) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) were dehydrated in a low temper ature drier and stored for 9 months under ambient and cold stored condition s after packaging in single or double layers of high density polyethylene f ilm (200 gauge). The quality was determined on the basis of retention of be ta -carotene, ascorbic acid and chlorophyll, and the extent of browning dur ing storage. Retention of these quality characteristics depended on the cro p and storage conditions. Double packed and cold stored samples of fenugree k retained 67% beta -carotene, whereas savoy beet leaves retained only 57% of the initial beta -carotene under similar conditions. Similarly, higher r etention of ascorbic acid and chlorophyll, and lower browning was observed in double packed, cold stored samples. Results indicated the efficacy of do uble packed and cold stored samples over other combinations.