Effect of Cooking Methods on the β-carotene Content of Jute Mallow Leaves (Corchorus olitorius)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different cooking methods on the β-carotene content of jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius) leaves. Three cooking methods have been experimented. Jute mallow raw leaves was respectively boiled for 15 and 30 minutes in water (CW), in water containing ash leachate (CWA) and frying for 5 minutes followed by cooking with water (CWF) for 15 and 30 minutes. The β-carotene content of raw Corchorus olitorius (jute mallow) leaves were 9774.90 μg/100g dry matter basis. The β-carotene content decrease significantly (p=0.00) during the different types processing. However, the β-carotene content on leaves cooked using ash leachate (3604.00 μg/100g and 3768.80 μg/100g) was significantly (p=0.00) higher that on leaves cooked in water (2285.50 μg/100g and 2365.00 μg/100g) respectively for 15 minutes and 30 minutes. The highest loss (86.42%) of β-carotene was observed for leaves fried for 5 minutes followed by 30 minutes cooking. These results demonstrated that any of the cooking methods used lead significantly (p=0.00) to a decrease of the β-carotene content of jute mallow leaves, but addition of ash leachate during cooking improves significantly (p=0.00) the β-carotene retention