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The influence of red beet varieties and cultivation on their biochemical and sensory profile
Modern pharmacology shows that beetroot extracts exhibit antihypertensive and hypoglycaemic activity as well as excellent antioxidant activity. The promising results of the phytochemicals contained in the extracts suggest the opportunity for their use in functional foods.This study aimed to evaluate the biochemical profile (total ash and crude protein content, total polyphenols and betalains content) and sensory properties (5 points hedonic scale) of beetroot varieties from bio-B (B Taunus, B Boro, B Gesche) and traditional production-TP (TP Taunus, TP Boro, TP Rocket). The beetroots were obtained from a private producer from Austria. The crude protein content in evaluated red beetroots ranged from 1.54 % (B Taunus) to 5.32 % of fresh weight (TP Boro). The ash content range was 0.53 % (TP Rocket and TP Boro) to 0.63 % of fresh weight (TP Taunus). The total polyphenol content was the highest in sample of B Taunus – 3.29 mg GAE kg-1 of fresh weight (GAE – gallic acid equivalent). Betalains were determined separately as the red – violet betacyanins and the yellow betaxanthins. The concentration of betacyanins ranged from 5.7 mg.kg-1 (TP Boro) to 8.07 mg.kg-1 of fresh weight (B Gesche), while that of betaxanthins – from 2.77 mg.kg-1 (TP Boro) to 5.39 mg.kg-1 of fresh weight (B Gesche). Sensory properties (appearance, color, consistency, aroma, taste) of all the beetroot varieties were evaluated overall as good with the best score in a taste and overall appearance noted for TP Boro. The results improve our knowledge on beetroot as a valuable vegetable and indicate that further studies on the properties of different varieties of red beet are justified.