THE ESTIMATION OF BIOLOGICAL VALUE OF SOME SPECIES OF SPICE HERBS

The studies were carried out in the years 2004 and 2005 in the Laboratory of Plant Raw Material Processing and Storage and in the Department of Vegetable Crops of Agricultural University of Szczecin in Poland.
The aim of the experiment was to compare the biological value of some spice herb species: tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.), hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.), chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium L.), summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.), basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), marjoram (Origanum majorana L.) and leafy type parsley (Petroselinum sativum L. ssp. crispum). The chemical analysis was carried out in the raw plant material.
The determinations included the content of dry matter, total ash, total nitrogen, total protein, crude fibre, total sugars, reducing sugars, saccharose, total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a and b, vitamin C, nitrates, nitrites and titratable acidity.
In the present work there were significant differences showed in the chemical composition of the compared species.
Among them the highest amount of dry matter and crude fibre was noted for marjoram.
Lemon balm was characterized by the highest content of chlorophylls and also by a high content of total nitrogen, total protein and titratable acidity.
The highest amounts of L-ascorbic acid and sugars were found in leaves of leafy parsley.
Moreover, the highest nitrate content was found in hyssop, while nitrite in chervil.
There were no nitrites in leafy parsley, marjoram and savory plants detected.

IV Balkan Symposium on Vegetables and Potatoes

M. Grzeszczuk, D. Jadczak

tarragon, hyssop, lemon balm, chervil, savory, basil, marjoram, leafy type parsley, chemical composition

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.830.98