Figure 3 presents the changes in total
phenolics in the samples as influenced by the
chemical treatments during storage at 4oC in
the dark. The total phenolics continued to
significantly increase throughout the storage
period in the CW and WC treatments. Ke and
Saltveit (1989) reported that the wounding of
iceberg lettuce caused an increase in total
soluble phenolic content. Total phenolics of
all samples increased, but the changes between
samples treated with cysteine and ascorbic acid
were unremarkable, with less than 1% total
phenolics increase during the entire storage
period. A similar conclusion was obtained with
seven U.S. cultivars, although the authors
indicated that four cultivars showed a good
correlation between degree of browning and
enzyme activity (Coseteng and Lee, 1987).