Carrots compounds

Fertile sources of carotenoids include carrots and leafy green vegetables such as spinach. Tomatoes contain significant amounts of the red carotenoid, lycopene. Although lycopene has no vitamin A activity, it is a particularly efficient antioxidant (see Antioxidants). Oxidation of carotenoids to biologically inactive xanthophyUs represents an important degradation pathway for these compounds (56). 

An alkene, sometimes caJled an olefin, is a hydrocarbon that contains a carbon-carbon double bond. Alkenes occur abundantly in nature. Ethylene, for instance, is a plant hormone that induces ripening in fruit, and o-pinene is the major component of turpentine. Life itself would be impossible without such alkenes as /3-carotene, a compound that contains 11 double bonds. An orange pigment responsible for the color of carrots, /3-carotene is a valuable dietary source of vitamin A and is thought to offer some protection against certain types of cancer. 

Why are some organic compounds colored while others aren t /3-Carotene, the pigment in carrots, is purple-orange, for instance, while cholesterol is colorless. The answer involves both the chemical structures of colored molecules and the way we perceive light. 

Another very common phytochemical isolated was phytol (3,7,11, 15-tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-l-ol), the diterpenoid alcohol which forms the "tail" of chlorophyll. This compound is nearly insoluble in water, but when applied as a 0.1 mM (0.003 wt. %) solution in 0.1% DMS0 it increased onion germination while decreasing germination in sorghum, wheat, and carrot. The germination effects are significant at only the 95% level, but pretreatment studies are planned as part of other terpene chemistry studies at SRRC and LSI). 

The antioxidant capacity retained in carrots washed with ASC could be attributed to retention of phenol and flavonoid compounds as well as carotene content (Ruiz-Cruz and others 2007). These results suggest that the use of sanitizers such as ASC is helpful in preserving the antioxidant capacity of carrots. Similar ORAC values were observed between different sanitizers and both water conditions, without significant changes. This is a clear example of a postharvest treatment maintaining the nutritional value of produce. 

Koca N and Karedeniz F. 2008. Changes of bioactive compounds and anti-oxidant activity during cold storage of carrots. Int J Food Sci Technol. 43(11) 2019-2025. 

Harborne JB, Baxter H, Moss GP (1999) Phytochemical dictionary a handbook of bioactive compounds from plants, 2nd edn. Taylor Francis, London, pp 976 Hiltunen LH, White JG (2002) Cavity spots of carrot (Daucus carota). Ann Appl Biol 141 201-223... 

The cicutoxin-like compounds are known for their extreme and violent toxicity. There are other plant species that contain these polyacetylene type compounds, however none are as toxic as cicutoxin and oenanthotoxin. These species all come from the Umbelliferae family and include Falcaria vulgaris, Slum sisarum, Carum carvi, Aegopodium podagraria and Daucus carota. Daucus carota is the common carrot and it contains a similar cicutoxin-like compound, caratotoxin, but is less toxic (LD50 = 100 mg/kg i.v. in mice) than cicutoxin. Caratotoxin is found in minute amounts in carrots and is not considered a health concern for humans (Crosby and Aharonson, 1967). 

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