Physicochemical Quality Changes in Chinese Cabbage with Storage Period and Temperature: A Review

and Temperature: A Review Joon-Yong Shim, Do-Gyun Kim, Jong-Tae Park, Lalit Mohan Kandpal, Soon-jung Hong, Byoung-Kwan Cho, Wang-Hee Lee* Department of Biosystems Machinery Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Korea Department of Food Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Korea Rural Human Resource Development Center, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, 54874, Korea Received: November 10th, 2016; Revised: November 21st, 2016; Accepted: November 25th, 2016 Background: Recent inquiries into high-quality foods have discussed the importance of the functional aspects of foods, in addition to traditional quality indicators such as color, firmness, weight, trimming loss, respiration rate, texture, and soluble solid content. Recently, functional Chinese cabbage, which makes up a large portion of the vegetables consumed in Korea, has been identified as an anticancer treatment. However, the investigation of practical issues, such as the effects of storage conditions on quality indicators (including functional compounds), is still limited. Purpose: We reviewed various studies on variations in the quality indicators and functional compounds of Chinese cabbage in response to different storage environments, focusing on storage temperature and storage period. In particular, we emphasized the effect of storage temperature and storage period on glucosinolate (GSL) levels, in order to provide guidelines for optimizing storage environments to maximize GSLs. Additionally, we used response surface methodology to propose experimental designs for future studies exploring the optimal storage conditions for enhancing GSL contents. Review: Large variations in quality indicators were observed depending on the cultivar, the type of storage, the storage conditions, and the harvest time. In particular, GSL content varied with storage conditions, indicating that either low temperatures or adequate air composition by controlled atmospheric storage may preserve GSL levels, as well as prolonging shelf life. Even though genetic and biochemical approaches are preferred for developing functional Chinese cabbage, it is important to establish a practical method for preserving quality for marketability; a prospective study into optimal storage conditions for preserving functional compounds (which can be applied in farms), is required. This may be achievable with the comprehensive meta-analysis of currently published data introduced in this review, or by conducting newly designed experiments investigating the relationship between storage conditions and the levels of functional compounds.