Retention of ascorbic acid in pickles--effect of different spices and salt (an in vitro study)

Effect of spices, different concentration of sodium chloride and other salts on retention of ascorbic acid during storage period (21 days in case of spices and eight days for salts) was studied. The retention of ascorbic acid with the addition of 24% NaCl was 55%, followed by 37% with red chillies, fenugreek, turmeric; 32% with the addition of pepper, sugar and 26% with mustard and asafoetida. When all the spices and salt were added together, the retention was much higher (73%) than those with individual spices. Sodium chloride over a wide range of concentrations was found to have higher retention of ascorbic acid. The retention being 80%, when stored with 24.0% sodium chloride solution for eight days. Sulfates of sodium, potassium, magnesium and manganese or chlorides of magnesium or manganese did not have a significant effect on the retention of ascorbic acid. The retention with potassium chloride was close to that observed with sodium chloride.