DETERMINATION OF ASCORBIC ACID AND CHLOROPHYL PIGMENTS IN VARIOUS GREEN EDIBLE GARDEN PLANTS

In a comparativ study, the concentration of Chl A, Chl B, Carotenoids, vitamin C in some green leaves from plants used as raw or cooked food were determined and analysed. The studied samples were Spinach (Spinacia oleracea), Dill (Anethum graveolens) Sorrel (Rumex acetosa), Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) and Patience dock (Rumex patientia) and were taken from two different localities in Bihor county, Romania, with different environmental conditions, cultivated in soils where no fertilizers were used. Results showed that the environment was not decisive in this case, an important role was due to the nature of the analysed species. However, it was observed that in the sorrel samples, which had the highest concentration of vitamin C, the oxidative process of Chl A was slowed down. The highest concentrations of Chl A and Chl B were obtained for spinach samples, followed by dill, and for sorrel, parsley and stevia, the concentrations were lower and very close. The highest concentrations of carotenoids were found in spinach leaves, and the lowest values were recorded for patience dock. The highest concentration of vitamin C was found in sorrel samples. This was almost 25 times that of spinach, 6 times that of parsley, 3 times that of stevia and double that of dill.