Changes of bioactive compounds and anti‐oxidant activity during cold storage of carrots

Summary Carotenoids, total phenolics and anti‐oxidant activity of carrots were determined during 6 months of storage at 0 °C, 85–90% relative humidity. In addition to changes in CIE colour parameters (L*, a*, b*, h and C), physicochemical properties of carrots including water soluble solids; pH and titratable acidity were evaluated. Cold storage of carrots did not affect the carotenoid levels (β‐carotene, α‐carotene and total carotenoid) except lutein, which showed a 37.5% loss. Total phenolic concentration of carrots decreased significantly (P < 0.05) over the entire storage period. The anti‐oxidant activity of carrots decreased with a level of 31% and was found correlated with total phenolics and lutein content in carrots. While CIE L* and a* parameters decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after 6 months of storage, the b* and C parameters were statistically unchanged for the first 4 months of storage, but decreased gradually for the following period.