Ascorbic Acid Treatments Affect Bleaching of Blanched Broccoli Florets Held in the Light

When chlorophyll a solution in 80% ethanol was incubated with various radical scavengers and antioxidants under the light (30 /¿mole-m^s1), ascorbate and erythorbate inhibited effectively chlorophyll degradation. Boiled chloroplast suspension also retained green with addition of ascorbate under the light. Blanched florets held under the light showed no bleaching at the buds part, but showed complete bleaching at the stems part during 1 day of storage. The bleaching of stems under the light was slightly inhibited by the addition of exogenous ascorbate due to insufficient ascorbate absorption by the tissue and oxidation from ascorbate to dehydroascorbate in a day. Vacuum packaging with a gas barrier film retained green color in blanched floret held under the light.