2-Furoylmethyl amino acids, hydroxymethylfurfural, carbohydrates and B-carotene as quality markers of dehydrated carrots

[Background] Processing of vegetables in the food industry usually includes dehydration as a preservation process. Industrial convective air drying of carrot can involve steam blanching of the raw product after peeling and cutting, and different stages of dehydration (first space, second space and final drying). Although the shelf-life of carrot is significantly extended, important changes in its chemical composition can take place during dehydration since high temperatures and long times are used. This research is a preliminary study to evaluate the usefulness of β-carotene, carbohydrates, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and 2-furoylmethyl amino acids (2-FM-AA) as qualitymarkers of dehydrated carrots.[Results] A considerable decrease in β-carotene and reducing carbohydrates was observed during dehydration. HMF, absent in raw carrots, increased during the whole drying process and the highest formation was found during the steam blanching stage. 2-FM-AA of lysine, arginine, γ -aminobutyric acid and alanine were progressively originated up to the second space and decreased during the final drying.[Conclusion] The combined use of HMF and 2-FM-AA seems to be advantageous for the assessment of the optimal processing conditions to obtain high-quality dehydrated carrots.This work has been funded by Ministry of Education and Science of Spain (project AGL2007-63462) and by Consolider (CSD2007- 00063 INGENIO 2010). The authors thank Saac IbericaSA(Vallelado, Segovia) for kindly providing information on carrot dehydration. ACS also thanks CSIC and the EU for a postdoctoral I3P contract.Peer reviewe