## 2 Purple Carrot and Its Nutritional Value  
Carrots (_Daucus carota_ L) belong to the family _Apiaceae_[33]. Orange varieties represent the majority of carrot production (_Daucus carota_ ssp. _sativus_ var. _atrorubens_ Alef. ), though in some regions, such as Turkey, Afghanistan, Egypt, and India, purple carrot varieties are traditionally grown and consumed. Purple carrot roots have a bluish-purple color associated with the presence of a high number of anthocyanins. Due to the constraints on artificial additives and the growing demand for natural antioxidants, these pigments  
Figure 1: The factors affecting MetS and cancer. have recently received more interest as a natural food colorant [34]. The utilization of natural food colorants from purple carrots has increased because of the high stability of the acylated anthocyanins they contain [35]. Similarly, many studies have demonstrated that purple carrot roots contain high numbers of phenolics as compared with other colored vegetables [36]. Table 1 presents the average nutritional values of purple carrot roots per 100 g FW. Purple carrots contain significant quantities of carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and anthocyanins. Therefore, they are considered to be a valuable vegetable with a rich nutritional profile [37]. Table 2 presents some bioactive compounds present in purple carrot roots. The dietary importance of carrots due to a range of phytochemicals, mainly phenolic compounds, carotenoids, polyacetylenes, and dietary fiber [39]. Purple carrot cultivars contain high amounts of phenolic compounds as compared to other colored varieties [40]. The total phenolic content of purple carrot roots could range from 43.31 to 76.64 [41] mg/100 g fresh weight (FW), of which 78% are anthocyanins, 18% phenolic acids and 4% other flavonoids [42]. Moreover, purple carrot roots are an interesting natural food source, due to the high levels of polyphenols, particularly anthocyanins and phenolic acids, all of which make a significant contribution to biological activities [42]. Furthermore, 5-O-caffeoyluinic acid is an important phenolic acid present in purple carrot roots. Additionally, these carrots contain some derivatives of hydroxybenzoic acid, quercetin, ferulic, and caffe acid. Two non-acylated anthocyanins (cyanidin-3-xylosyl glucosyl galactoside and cyanidin-3-xylosylgalactoside) and three mono-acylated anthocyanins (cyanidin-3-xylosylgalactoside, feruloyl glucosyl galactoside, and comuaroyl-glucosyl galactoside) have been quantified and recognized in purple carrots in recent research [35]. Purple carrot is also a good source of carotenoids, mainly \(\beta\)- and \(\alpha\)-carotenes and lutein. Its roots could contain 600-20,000 \(\upmu\)g carotenoids per 100 g. These amounts could be higher than typical orange varieties [41; 43; 44]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Comparison** & **Nutritional Concentration** & **Reference** \\ \hline Energy & 42 kcal & \\ Protein & 0.87 g & \\ Fat & 0.14 g & \\ Carbohydrates & 8.01 g & [38] \\ Total dietary fiber & 2.48 g & \\ Iron & 0.26 mg & \\ Zinc & 0.15 mg & \\ Sodium & 82 mg & \\ Potassium & 256 mg & \\ Calcium & 33 mg & \\ Magnesium & 17 mg & \\ Phosphorus & 29 mg & \\ Vitamin B1 & 0.029 mg & \\ Vitamin B2 & 0.029 mg & \\ Vitamin B3 & 1.211 mg & \\ Vitamin B6 & 0.072 mg & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: The average nutritional values of purple carrot per 100 g.