Effect of Air Cooling and Vacuum Cooling Storage on the β-Carotene Content and Proximate Analysis (Water Content, pH, Total Protein and Content of Sugar) in Carrot

Abstract

The study of air cooling and vacuum cooling storage effect on the β-carotene content and proximate analysis in carrot has been studied. The aim of the research to determine the effective storage in carrot to improve the quality and the shelf life. Parameters measured during the 12 weeks of storage process were β-carotene, pH, water, sugar and protein content. Validation analysis for β-carotene method showed a good linearity (r2 = 0.997) in a range of 0-8 mg/L and (r2 = 0.999) in a range of 0-1 mg/L. The precision was exemplified by %RSD of 0.88%-7.48%. Mean recovery was 100.66% during accuracy studied. UV analysis revealed the LOD values were 0.009 mg/L and LOQ values were 0.032 mg/L. The decreased content of β-carotene, water, protein, and pH from carrot during vacuum cooling storage were higher than in the air cooling storage period. The sugar content for air cooling storage increased up to eight weeks and decreased at the end of storage while the vacuum cooling storage decreased from the beginning of the storage period. All the data indicates that the air cooling storage was more effective storage techniques for extending the shelf life of carrot compared to the vacuum cooling storage.