EFFECTS OF GROWING LOCATION AND COLD STORAGE ON NUTRITIONAL VALUES OF PURPLE CARROT (DAUCUS CAROTA SSP. SATIVUS VAR. ATRORUBENS ALEF) GENOTYPES

Purple carrots (Daucus carota ssp. Sativus var. Atrorubens Alef) have received much attention as a natural source of antioxidants, which is confirmed to reduce risk of cancer when consumed frequently. In this study, six purple carrot genotypes (DC17, DC28, DC33, DC34, DC36, and DC37) collected from Anatolia, produced under two distant and very different ecological conditions. Field trials have been planned according to the randomized complete blocks design with three replications. After the harvest, antioxidant activity, total phenolic, total flavonoid, anthocyanin, total soluble solid, titratable acidity and invert sugar values of stored and non-stored roots were assessed. Anthocyanin, total flavonoid and total phenolic content of the six genotypes ranked between 11.3-1,692.4 mg/l. 412.7-3,242.4 mg KE/100 g and 491.4-5,772.3 mg GAE/100 g respectively. Antioxidant activity was determined to be between 9,848.46-3,274.62 mu mol TE 100 g(-1), 4,676.9-235.6 mu mol TE 100 g(-1) according to 1.1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assays respectively. According to the results, the studied parameters of the genotypes were significantly affected. Different ecological conditions affected the phytochemical composition of the purple carrot roots. The effect of storage on all parameters except total flavonoid content was found significant.