New carrot varieties could become a valuable source of natural colourants and bioactive compounds for use in food products. Scientists from the InLife Institute have launched the Carrot4Health project to comprehensively assess the health-promoting potential of colourful carrot varieties.
Although carrots are most commonly associated with their orange roots, they also come in purple, red and yellow varieties. As part of the Carrot4Health project, researchers will assess the potential of innovative colourful carrot varieties as natural sources of anthocyanins – pigments and bioactive compounds with established health-promoting potential.
The project, “Carrot4Health: New Carrot Varieties as a Source of Natural Colourants and Bioactive Ingredients”, is being carried out under the Science for the Development of Society programme, funded by the state budget through the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The total budget for Carrot4Health is PLN 2 million.
Science addressing social and economic needs
The project responds to challenges related to nutrition and public health. Low vegetable consumption and the growing prevalence of diet-related diseases highlight the need to seek solutions that encourage healthier eating habits.
Carrot4Health also has an economic dimension. The project involves collaboration between researchers and a business partner, creating opportunities to better align research findings with the needs of the food industry. The industrial partner is Tymbark MWS Sp. z o.o., Olsztynek Branch.
Securing funding was made possible through collaboration between research teams and the Research Support Office. Their involvement covered every stage of the application process — from developing the research concept and refining the project objectives to preparing the complete application documentation.
The following individuals contributed to the project preparation: Wiesław Wiczkowski, Bartosz Fotschki, Jerzy Juśkiewicz, Joanna Fotschki, Dorota Szawara-Nowak, Dorota Napiórkowska, Katarzyna Capłap, Katarzyna Gawdzińska-Duda, Anna Bednarska-Barcz, Tomasz Molcan and Krzysztof Wilczek.
