Abstract
Peeling may result in changes in carrot’s nutritional properties; therefore, the present study focused on its effect on the retention of principal nutrients (minerals, sugars, organic acids) and antioxidants (carotenoids and phenols) in the peeled roots of two landraces (‘Carota a punta lunga’—CPL and ‘Carota a punta tonda’—CPT) and a hybrid cultivar (‘Presto’) grown in the area of the “Salterns of Margherita di Savoia” area (Puglia region). The peel had a higher concentration of cations (+92%), organic acids (+103%), carotenoids (+42%), and phenolic acids (seven times) than root flesh. For each chemical class, the most abundant components were K, malic acid, ß-carotene, and chlorogenic acid, respectively. The two landraces stand out for the accumulation of the phenolic acids and ß-carotene, whereas the peel of ‘Presto’ was distinguished by the concentration of Ca and ascorbic and pyruvic acids. The root flesh had a greater accumulation of simple sugars, nitrate (mainly in CPL), oxalic acid, and in particular in the flesh of ‘Presto’, of Na and Cl. For local varieties, peel removal seems to impact the nutritional and antioxidative properties of carrots more consistently compared to the advanced cultivar, since it represents on average 21% and 59% of the total carotenoids and phenols, respectively, of the intact roots.
Highlights
This vegetable has gained in popularity due to increased awareness of its nutritional value [3], since it is rich in nutrients and health-promoting compounds, including minerals, sugars, carotenoids, and phenols [4]
The local carrot genotype “Carota a punta lunga” (CPL) exhibited a higher leaf number and fresh weight along with larger roots (p ≤ 0.001) compared with the landrace “Carota a punta tonda” (CPT) and the commercial genotype ‘Presto’ (Table 1), pointing out its greater plant vigour. This is confirmed by the observations reported by farmers who have managed these cultivations for decades
Variability in dry matter (DM) concentration was observed between genotypes, with
Summary
The most common carrots are the orange-coloured type; yellow or purplecoloured roots are produced in Europe, the U.S.A., Turkey, and India [2] This vegetable has gained in popularity due to increased awareness of its nutritional value [3], since it is rich in nutrients and health-promoting compounds, including minerals, sugars, carotenoids, and phenols [4]. Recent meta-analysis studies, considering the relationship between carrot consumption and the development of some human diseases, have highlighted the key role of this vegetable in contrasting breast, gastric, lung, and prostate cancer [5,6,7,8] These proprieties could be associated with its high content in carotenoids and phenolic compounds able to scavenge free radicals to improve the defence system against oxidative stress [9].
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