Effect of organic acids on the concentration of nitrite during pickle( Chinese cabbage) fermentation

A procedure was developed to determine organic acid species and concentrations,nitrite concentration,pH value of marinade,and the degradation rate of organic acids by HPLC and spectrophotometry,to study the effect of organic acids on the concentration of nitrite during pickle fermentation. The results indicated that oxalic acid,tartaric acid,malic acid,lactic acid,citric acid,succinic acid and propionic acids existed in the fermented pickle,wherein the content of tartaric acid and lactic acid were higher than others. The concentrations of oxalic acid and succinic acid firstly increased and decreased with the lengthening of time,however,the concentrations of citric acid,tartaric acid,propionic acids and lactic acid continuously decreased during fermentation. The order of scavenging ability from high to low is oxalic acid,malic acid,tartaric acid,citric acid,succinic acid,propionic acids and lactic acid.Among all these organic acids,tartaric acid and lactic acid were the most important ones that could affect the concentrations of nitrite efficiently.