Analysis of ingredients

The potential of organically bred varieties in terms of taste/flavour and content of various nutritionally relevant ingredients is currently unexplored or unused. Using different high-resolution chromatographic and photometric methods, relevant ingredients from the group of sugars, phenols, carotenoids, and terpenes will be analysed in different fresh and processed goods (juice) and the antioxidant potential is determined. It is hypothesized that there is a high variability in the formation or accumulation of these ingredients, and therefore specific varieties with a high content of desirable or low content of undesirable ingredients (bitter substances) can be identified. Possibly, this will result in new fields of application and products for the use of different carrot varieties in food.

Carrots contain a whole range of medically active substances, the most important of which are carotenoids. Carotenoids are physiological important as they are involved in the transfer of energy during photosynthesis and as they protect cells from the harmful effects of light. The subgroup of carotenes, such as beta-carotene (provitamin of vitamin A1 = retinol, which is converted to vitamin A in the liver) or lycopene
(cancer-protective ingredient) is particularly beneficial to health. Preparations made from carrot root therefore promote visual acuity and twilight vision and have a beneficial effect on certain eye diseases (retinitis pigmentosa).

An essential explanation of the clinical effects of carrots is their content of beta-carotene and similar compounds (lycopene, lutein, etc.): their strong antioxidant effects reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by defusing certain cytotoxins (e.g. oxygen radicals). High beta-carotene levels in the blood also improve convalescence.
As humans cannot synthesise carotenoids, they have to be taken in with food on a plant-based basis. Carrots are an important source of carotenoids because large amounts are accumulated in beet tissue (Ladizinsky, 1998, Rubatzky et al., 1999).

Furthermore, terpenes belong to one of the most important groups of secondary metabolites in carrots, which influence taste (e.g. limes) but are also responsible for bitterness (Kramer et al., 2012). In carrots, up to 20 different terpenes are responsible for the carrot flavour. The content of most terpenes increases with increasing temperature during the cultivation period.

The high content of sugar compounds from the groups of mono- and oligosaccharides, e.g. glucose and sucrose, is relevant for sensory perception. Apart from these pharmacologically conspicuous ingredients, carrots contain high amounts of minerals, polysaccharides such as pectin, dietary fibres beneficial for the human digestion or vitamins of the B-group and vitamin C.

Carrot juice is a popular drink consumed around the world and is accepted as an important source of carotenoids, vitamins, and phenols, which promote human antioxidant activity by intercepting free radicals (Aadil et al., 2013). For this reason, it is important to maintain or enhance antioxidants naturally present in food by using emerging technologies in combination with mild temperatures to process food.

For the final content of ingredients, however, it is mainly the choice of variety that plays a major role and causes a 7 to 11-fold difference in terpene, β carotene, magnesium, iron and phenol content and a 1 to 4-fold difference in bitter and sweet taste.
Climate-related factors can cause terpenes to contain up to 20 times, up to 82% for total sugar and 30 to 50% for β carotene 40 % salary changes. Organically grown carrots had up to 70% higher magnesium and 10% higher iron content compared to conventional farming. Low nitrogen fertilisation can lead to an increase in terpene content of up to 100%, a small increase in dry matter (+4 to +6%) and magnesium (+8%), and a reduction in β carotene content (-8 to -11%). The sensory and chemical quality parameters of carrots are thus mainly determined by genetic and climatic factors and to a lesser extent by the cultivation method.