Phenolic compounds as the major antioxidants in red cabbage

In the heads of four red cabbage cultivars and two DH lines (one of red and one of white type), as well as in the standard white cabbage ‘Lennox F1’ cultivar, the contents of phenolic substances (total, phenylpropanoids, flavonols and anthocyanins) were estimated. Antiradical scavenging activity was determined using the DPPH and ABTS methods. The level of phenolics of all the groups, especially that of the anthocyanins, as well as RSA, was much higher in red cabbage in comparison to white. Among red cabbage assays, also a considerable variability of antioxidative parameters was observed. Four-month commercial storage resulted in a significant reduction in phenol compounds in red cabbage, but this was not the case in the white cultivar.

Radical scavenging activity did not significantly change after cold storage, except in 2005/06, when a decrease in RSA measured by the DPPH method was noticed. The values of RSA determined by the ABTS method exceeded those determined by DPPH.