Organic versus conventional beetroot. Bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties

The objective of the present study is therefore to ascertain whether beetroots labelled as either organic or conventional differ in terms of their nutritional quality (bioactive compounds content and antioxidant properties). Although our analysis showed that both organic and conventional growing systems had similar average levels of the flavonoids kaempferol-3-O-glucoside and luteolin in the final products, the organic beetroot showed significantly higher contents of total betalains and total polyphenols, as well as higher total antioxidant capacities, when compared to the conventionally grown samples. However, the effect of the production system proved to be dependent on the cultivar that was assessed; moreover, the differences between cultivars in terms of nutritional quality were as relevant as the differences between the production systems. In view of the crucial role of the cultivar, it is therefore difficult to guarantee that organic rather than conventional beetroot in the shopping basket will result in better nutritional quality for the consumer.
Source: LWT Food Science and Technology - Category: Food Science Source Type: research