Oriental brassica vegetables – alternatives for a higher intake of health-promoting substances

Brassica vegetables are one of the most important groups of vegetables in terms of their nutritional composition. The aim of this work was to evaluate the lesser known Asian species from the family Brassicaceae cultivated in the conditions of the Czech Republic and to carry out a comparison with cabbage as a reference species. For the evaluation, two species of Chinese broccoli, two cultivars of Chinese cabbage (‘Dwarf milk cabbage’ and improved ‘Tahtsai’) and mizuna were selected. Among the properties evaluated were dry matter production, crude fiber content, vitamin C, carotenoids, TAC, flavonoids, phenols, and mineral composition (K, Na, Ca, and Mg). The highest contents of vitamin C were found in mizuna and the lowest in Chinese Cabbage 2. In comparison to the reference species, the majority of the properties of Chinese cabbage had higher values in comparison to traditional cabbage (range: 101–577%). Positive results were also found for mizuna. The worst brassica was Chinese Cabbage 2 in which the majority of the properties measured were lower in comparison to traditional cabbage.