the library

Rhubarb

Spice & roots· root bitter

10 of 58 compounds on file carry a paper the library can cite.

• acetic acidaromaacidreads as pungent (PubChem)Measured in 35 of 338 ingredients.cite

  39.1-75.0 mg/L across the four cultivars, mean 62.0 ± 16.0 — Kharchenko et al. 2023, BioTech (Table 3, row 'Acetic')
• benzoic acidaromaacidreads as bitter taste (PubChem)Measured in 5 of 338 ingredients.cite

  0.7-11.7 mg/L across the four cultivars, mean 6.7 ± 4.5 — the smallest and by far the most variable entry in the table (CV 67.2%), 'Krupnochereshkovy' carrying one-sixteenth of what 'Upryamets' does — Kharchenko et al. 2023, BioTech (Table 3, row 'Benzoic')
• citric acidtasteacidreads as strongly acidic taste (PubChem)Measured in 7 of 338 ingredients.cite

  12,550-18,100 mg/L across the four cultivars, mean 15,113 ± 2852 — 81% of the total organic acid this paper measures, and the largest by an order of magnitude — Kharchenko et al. 2023, BioTech (Table 3 (Varietal differences in organic acid content in rhubarb juice, mg/L), row 'Citric')
• DL-malic acidtasteacidreads as sour taste (PubChem)Measured in 8 of 338 ingredients.cite

  'The share of malic acid in total acid content varied between 89% and 92% in the evaluated rhubarb cultivars' — their own measurement, not a borrowed figure, and the direct contradiction of the citric-dominant reading — Mezeyová et al. 2021, Plants (Discussion, the authors' own summary of their Table 9 result)
• lactic acidtasteacidreads as mild acid taste and does not overpower weaker aromatic flavors (PubChem)Measured in 8 of 338 ingredients.cite

  18.1-95.0 mg/L across the four cultivars, mean 57.8 ± 31.5 — a 5.2-fold cultivar range, the largest relative spread in the table (CV 54.5%) — Kharchenko et al. 2023, BioTech (Table 3, row 'Lactic')
• oxalic acidtasteacidMeasured in 1 of 338 ingredients.cite

  1800-2520 mg/L across the four cultivars, mean 2141 ± 301 — the second largest acid, and the one that makes rhubarb leaves inedible while the petiole stays usable — Kharchenko et al. 2023, BioTech (Table 3, row 'Oxalic')
• succinic acidtasteacidreads as very acid taste (PubChem)Measured in 5 of 338 ingredients.cite

  635-1550 mg/L across the four cultivars, mean 1071 ± 377; the widest spread of the three major acids, 2.4-fold between 'Upryamets' and 'Zaryanka' — Kharchenko et al. 2023, BioTech (Table 3, row 'Succinic')
• tartaric acidtasteacidMeasured in 6 of 338 ingredients.cite

  20.0-52.1 mg/L across the four cultivars, mean 31.8 ± 14.1 — Kharchenko et al. 2023, BioTech (Table 3, row 'Tartaric')
• sorbic acidaromaacidreads as slightly acidic taste (PubChem)Measured in 1 of 338 ingredients.cite

  16.8-36.2 mg/L across the four cultivars, mean 25.7 ± 8.1. Reported in the paper's own spelling; see the notes — sorbic acid is a standard preservative and its presence in a freshly pressed juice is worth treating with suspicion — Kharchenko et al. 2023, BioTech (Table 3, row 'Sorbinic')
• vitamin Ctasteacidreads as pleasant, sharp, acidic taste (PubChem)Measured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite

  125.0-164 mg/L across the four cultivars, mean 140.3 ± 16.8 — the tightest range of any acid in the table (CV 12.0%) — Kharchenko et al. 2023, BioTech (Table 3, row 'Ascorbic')