Accumulation of Ascorbic Acid in Fresh Echinacea Purpurea Plants and Their Processing Products

The accumulation of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in fresh Echinacea purpurea plants grown in a non-chernozem zone of Russia in 2009 – 2010 in addition to its component parts, juice, and pulp was analyzed as a function of age (2 – 7 years) and year of collection. Leaves accumulated the most ascorbic acid; stems, the least. The vitamin C concentration in juice from fresh plants collected in 2009 was much greater than that in the herb. The vitamin C content in juice from 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old plants collected in 2010 was the same as in the herb. Fresh pulp was characterized by a lower vitamin C content than the fresh plant and juice according to results from a two-year experiment. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.