Abstract:Leafy vegetables are the main source of folate in residents' diets, and there are many kinds of leafy vegetables in china. In order to obtain the folate content in leafy vegetables maximally, the folate contents in common leafy vegetables and the effects of cooking methods and storage on folate contents in common vegetables were investigated. The contents of 5-CH3-H4 folate and folate in eight common leafy vegetables were determined by liquid chromatography. The changes of contents of 5-CH3-H4 folate and folate in eight leafy vegetables in the process of boiling, frying, steaming and refrigerating were also determined. The results showed that 5-CH3-H4 folate content in spinach was highest for 75.32 μg/100 g, followed by baby bok choy, Chinese cabbage, romaine lettuce, purple cabbage, green bok choy, white cabbage and long leaf lettuce. Folate contents in leafy vegetables were much lower than that of 5-CH3-H4 folate, which were even not detected in white cabbage. The cooking methods had different effects on 5-CH3-H4 folate and folate contents in leafy vegetables. Steaming could keep well the folate content in leafy vegetables, boiling second, and the frying was the worst. In consideration of keeping folate, leafy vegetables should not be stored in 4℃ for more than two days. The loss of folate in leafy vegetables could be effectively reduced by choosing reasonable cooking methods and storage time, which was expected to improve the status of folic acid deficiency in residents.
