## 1 Introduction  
In recent years, there has been a great deal of consumer interest in minimally processed food with preserved natural quality features, high sensory quality and nutritional value, as well as low energy value. Native to the Mediterranean region of Europe, red cabbage (_Brassica olerae var. Capitata f. Rubra_) is a widely used component in ready-to-eat products. It is one of the cruciferous vegetables that is distinguished by high levels of anthocyanins, glucosinolates and sulforaphane [1]. There are reports that sulforaphane may be a chemopreweight, supporting the removal of toxins and carcinogenic substances from the body [2, 3, 4, 5]. Recently, there has been widespread consumer interest in consuming vegetables in the form of sprouts, which have become popular ingredients in fresh vegetable salads [6]. During seed germination, many structural and metabolic changes take place, contributing to the removal of anti-nutrients such as enzyme inhibitors from seeds, making most types of sprouts safe for human consumption, although some sprouts, e.g., quinoa sprouts, require a prior heat treatment to inactivate the toxic type 1 ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) [7]. High nutritional and low energy value of various types of sprouts are valued, and numerous literature data confirm their high pro-health properties [8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16]. Sprouts exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, inhibit pathogenic microorganisms, including _Helicobacter pylori_, support fat burning and support the treatment of diabetes [17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25].  
The disadvantage of vegetables, including sprouts, produced in a fresh, unprocessed form are the loss of bioactive compounds during their storage and relatively short shelf life, due to the fact that they are a good breeding ground for microorganisms, especially yeasts and molds [26; 27; 28]. Sprouts are characterized by a delicate texture and they are easily damaged and deteriorate in color. Hence, difficulties with their disinfection may arise [29; 30]. Recently, extensive research has been carried out on the possibility of extending the shelf life of vegetables through the use of organic acids, UV radiation and others; however, these studies are usually carried out on hard-textured vegetables and lettucs [31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41].  
The research undertaken in the work is important for scientific and application reasons due to the need to develop a method of producing sprouts from various seeds, which would be characterized by highly preserved health-promoting properties, of high microbiological purity with the use of disinfecting agents approved by sanitary authorities, which at the same time will not have a significant impact on the deterioration of their pro-health and sensory values. The available scientific literature lacks data on the method of sprout production, which allows the preservation of polyphenic compounds and the antioxidant potential during storage, while affecting the higher microbiological purity of the preserved raw materials.  
The aim of the study was to compare the content of polyphenols, antioxidant properties, color and microbiological quality in red cabbage sprouts preserved by the use of mild disinfectants in the form of citric, ascorbic, lactic, acetic and peracetic acids approved for use in organic products.