PROXIMATE AND MINERAL ANALYSIS OF CARROT FRUIT

The carrot samples used in this study were purchased from a vendor at Ozoro local market. The fresh carrot fruit samples were washed under tap water. The fruits were thoroughly washed with distilled water to remove soluble impurities; air dried inside the laboratory at room temperature and then crushed using mortar and pestle into fine powder. The results obtained from the mineral contents of carrot fruits showed Na (0.32), K (0.48), Ca (0.18) and Zn (0.17) respectively. The present study shows that carrot contains high percentage of protein (2.3%), and carbohydrate (19.2%), while the % composition of fat (1.5%) is relatively low. This might be attributed to the quantity of fertilizer applied during cultivation. Comparatively, the crude protein content of Carrot fruit is higher than protein content of many vegetable leaves consumed in Nigeria as reported in many literatures. There are many other components that were not discovered in this study, hence future researchers should try as much as possible to discover more of these constituents. It is also recommended that further research should be carried out on the antioxidant effect of carrot fruit like like phenol, terpenes, terpenoids, eugeuds and anthraquinone as well as their health benefits so as to encourage the consumption of carrot fruits among the populace.