Abstract—Background and objectives: Most of the agricultural products are processed by blanching. Blanching can increase antioxidant activity in white saffron products. The objective of this research were to determine antioxidant activity, to identify, and to measure changes in phenolic substances of fresh and blanched white saffron rhizomes (Curcuma mangga Val.). Methods: White saffron rhizomes were peeled, washed and blanched in boiling water containing 0% or 0.05% citric acid solution for 5 and 10 minutes. Samples were extracted using methanol, rotaevaporated, and freezedried. Dried extract was determined antioxidant activity by DPPH method, identified and quantified for the phenolic substances by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) equipped with coloumn C 18 and Photodiode-array detector (PAD). Result: This research showed that the quantity of the 6 phenolic substances identified in blanched white saffron in citric acid solution increased significantly compared to that of the non-blanched. Blanching white saffron in 0.05% citric acid media for 5 minutes increased its antioxidant activity, and total phenolic content. Conclusions: The identified phenolic substances of white saffron were Gallic Acid (GA), Catechin (C), Epicatechin (EC), Epigallocatechin (EGC), Epigallocatechingallat (EGCG) and Gallocatechingallat (GCG). The blanched white saffron contained C and EGCG significantly higher than that of fresh rhizomes. Keywords—White saffron, antioxidant activity, blanching, phenolic. I. INTRODUCTION HE main purpose of blanching is to inactivate enzymes [1]. Blanching can decrease or increase antioxidant in agricultural products. Most of the agricultural products are processed by blanching. Blanching is one of the most important preparation steps in processing various frozen vegetables. The blanching of red turi (Sesbania grandiflora L. (Pers) flower decreased anthocyanin and vitamin C content, due to the fact that antioxidant substances leached into the blanching media, and vitamin C was damaged by heating [2]. The blanching of red cabbage at 94-96ºC for 3 minutes decreased 42% of FRAP value [3]. The blanching of lentil The authors thank the Directorate General for Higher Education (DGHE), Ministry of National Education, Republic of Indonesia, for providing fund for this study. Pujimulyani D. is with Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Agroindustry, Mercu Buana University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (Corresponding author; phone: +6281328776036; e-mail: dwiyati2002@ yahoo.com) Raharjo S., Marsono Y., and Santoso U. are with Department of Agricultural Product Processing, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. beans at 5 psi pressure for 5 minutes decreased RSA by 29.5% and ORAC by 11.1% [4]. The decrease of antioxidant activity was probably due to the leaching of antioxidant compounds in the blanching media. Other studies showed that blanching increased antioxidant activity. The blanching of wheat with pressure at 100 ºC after harvesting increased the total phenol of wheat powder [5]. Blanching of corn in autoclave increased its total phenol [6]. The antioxidant activity of beans, corn, and tomato using DPPH method increased after blanching [7]. Brussel sprouts (Brassica oleracea L.), after water blanching at 100ºC for 2 and 3 minutes, have higher antioxidant activity compared to fresh brussel sprouts [8], [9]. Bilberry extract which was heated at 100ºC for 10 minutes had a higher antioxidant activity compared to the fresh extract, because anthocyanin was hydrolysed into anthocyanidin and sugar [10]. References [11], [12] found that hydrolysis of anthocyanin glycoside into anthocyanidin occurred during heating in acidic condition. Processed white saffron, in the form of wet and dry sweets, was well accepted by panelists and had antioxidant activity of Radical Scavenging Activity (RSA) 42.94% [13] and 40.68% [14] respectively. These products were prepared by heating (boiling) and showing antioxidant activity. It is probably because some of antioxidant compounds within the white saffron are heat resistant and some other compounds may change into different compounds with higher antioxidant activity. The purposes of this research were to determine antioxidant activity, to identify and to quantify of phenolic compound in fresh and blanched white saffron. II. METHODOLOGY A. Materials White saffron rhizomes (Curcuma mangga Val.) were harvested from a local farm in Yogyakarta. This study used GA, C, EC, EGC, EGCG, GCG, 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8- tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (trolox) were obtained from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, Mo, U.S.A). Methanol, HCl, acetic buffer, H 3 PO 4 , N 2 , CH 3 CN, citric acid, acetic ethyl were from E. Merck and aquabidestilata was from Ika Pharmindo. The Phenolic Substances and Antioxidant Activity of White Saffron (Curcuma mangga Val.) as Affected by Blanching Methods D. Pujimulyani, S. Raharjo, Y. Marsono, U. Santoso T World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Nutrition and Food Engineering Vol:7, No:10, 2013 947 International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 7(10) 2013 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/16925 International Science Index, Nutrition and Food Engineering Vol:7, No:10, 2013 waset.org/Publication/16925