Chemical composition of vegetable
Vegetables are derived from various parts of plants and the term vegetable has through usage come to apply in a more narrow sense to these plants or parts of plants that are served raw or cooked as a part of the main course of meal.
The average water content of vegetables is about 88%, with an average carbohydrate content of approximately 9%, 2% proteins, 0.3% fat and 0.8% ashes.
Vegetables are also important sources of digestible and indigestible carbohydrate as well as of minerals and vitamins.
The main sugars found in vegetables are glucose, fructose and sucrose. In general, vegetables contain higher amount of polysaccharides.
Compositions of vegetables not only vary according to botanical variety, cultivation practices and weather, but change with the degree of maturity prior to harvest and the condition of ripeness, which is progressive after harvest and is further influenced by storage conditions.
In green leafy vegetables it is low in carbohydrate and energy but they are good sources of beta-carotene, calcium, riboflavin, folic acid, ascorbic acid, iron and vitamin K.
Moreover, the preparation of the vegetables for consumptions and the method for isolation of volatile compounds may change the volatile profile and key aroma compounds compared to nonprocessed vegetables.
