Evaluation of total carotenoid content in functional food products enriched with rosehip powder (Rosa Canina)

Abstract

There is an increased interest for sources of natural antioxidants such as carotenoids in order to enrich food products to increase the product shelf life. The rosehip berries (Rosa Canina) are natural concentrate of vitamins (C, P, B1, B2, E, K), carotenoids, folic acid, volatile oil, etc. The aim of this study is to evaluate the physico-chemical characteristics of functional food products enriched with rosehip powder. For this purpose, it is intended to analyze the total carotenoid content of the studied rosehip powder by spectrophotometric methods. The results showed an amount of b-carotene 17.18±0.04 mg/L; lycopene 18.13±0.02 mg/L; zeaxanthin 18.02±0.04 mg/L. Evaluating the carotenoids content of functional products enriched with rosehip powder we can conclude that there is a high possibility to motivate the continuous use of this compounds in the production of functional food products. Also, there are possibilities to replace synthetic additives with natural ones thus offering to consumers high quality and safe for consumption food products.