Evaluation of quality, phenolic and carotenoid composition of fresh-cut purple polignano carrots stored in modified atmosphere

Purple Polignano carrot is a traditional Italian landrace cultivated in Apulia region rich in antioxidants and witha high nutritional value. On the other hand, these carrots showed a high perishability. The postharvest behaviourof fresh-cut purple Polignano carrots stored in open bags (AIR) or passive modified atmosphere (pMA) wasstudied, analysing the main qualitative parameters and the polyphenols and carotenoids profile. The storage inpMA allowed to preserve visual quality and respiration rate better than the storage in AIR. Polyphenols (hydroxycinnamicacids, their derivatives and anthocyanins) increased during storage of about 249 % in samplesstored in pMA and of about 306 % in those stored in AIR at 4 °C during the first 4 days of storage, respect to freshcarrots. Instead, carotenoids mean content in carrots just after harvest (6.28 ± 0.48 mg kg-1 fw) did not changesignificantly during storage at 4 °C (both in AIR or pMA). According to our results, pMA resulted a valid solutionto cold store fresh-cut purple Polignano carrots until two weeks, preserving quality and nutritional value.