Journal of Shanghai University(Natural Science Edition) ›› 2015, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (1): 81-87.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1007-2861.2014.01.034

• Metallurgical Materials • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Variations of nitrate and nitrite contents in vegetables during growth and storage

YAN Xiao-juan1, YAN Li-jun1,2, HU Xue-feng1,3, WANG Jian4   

  1. 1. School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China; 2. Academy of Recycling Economy, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, China; 3. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Bio-energy Crops, School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China; 4. Agricultural Technology Service Center, Qingpu District of Shanghai, Shanghai 201700, China
  • Received:2014-01-22 Online:2015-02-28 Published:2015-02-28

Abstract: Field experiments indicate that nitrate content in Chinese cabbage (brassica chinensis) is significantly raised when applying chemical fertilizers. Moreover, the nitrate content in its petioles is significantly higher than that in leaves. The nitrite content in fresh vegetables is usually less than 1 mg/kg FW (fresh weight), but may be significantly raised when it is stored. Especially, the nitrite content in vegetables sharply increases to several hundred mg/kg FW as soon as the leaves are decayed when it is stored at room temperature, posing a risk to human health. Pretreatments of vegetables before storage also significantly influence of nitrite accumulation. It should be noted that the nitrite content in vegetables stored as homogenate often increases sharply in a short term.

Key words: chemical fertilizer, nitrate, nitrite, storage, vegetable

CLC Number: