Antioxidant capacity of lettuce leaf tissue increases after wounding

Wounding induced the accumulation of phenolic compounds in Iceberg and Romaine lettuce leaf tissue. Phenolic concentrations were quantified after holding the leaf tissue at 10 degrees C for 48 h as the absorbance of a methanol extract at 320 nm, and by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Heat-shock treatments applied by immersing tissue in 45 degrees C water for 2.5 min before or after wounding reduced the accumulation of phenolic compounds. Compared to the nonwounded, nonheat-shocked controls, these and other wounding and heat-shock treatments produced leaf tissue with a 4-fold range in phenolic content. The antioxidant capacity of the tissue, measured as DPPH (alpha,alpha-diphenyl-beta-picrylhydrazyl)-radical scavenging activity, or as ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), increased after wounding. The increase was linearly correlated with the increase in phenolic compounds in Iceberg (R(2) > 0.97) and in Romaine (R(2) > 0.95) lettuce leaf tissue. Increased consumption of diets rich in phenolic antioxidants may contribute to reducing human diseases. Treatments that reduce the browning of wounded lettuce leaf tissue by preventing the oxidation of the accumulated wound-induced phenolic compounds may produce a healthier fresh-cut product than treatments that prevent the wound-induced synthesis and accumulation of phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties.