Development of high fibre and antioxidant-rich fruit bars from black carrot pomace

Extraction of black carrot juice results in generation of pomace as waste which contains good amount of phytochemicals. The purpose of this study was to utilize this waste for the formulation of bar. Bars were prepared by varying sugar (40-60%), citric acid (1-1.5%) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) (0.15-0.25%). Based on preliminary sensory trials, bar prepared with addition of 50% sugar, 1.50% citric acid and 0.25% CMC followed by drying at 60°C for 5 h was selected for product preparation and storage studies. The bars contained 10.55% crude fibre, ascorbic acid (6.21mg/100g), total phenols (1454.0 mg GAE/100g), carotenoids (3.15 mg/100g), and anthocyanins (72.30 mg CE/100g) with 60.32% DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Storage studies (at 28-37 °C/RH 35-87%) revealed that crude fiber and anthocyanins changed non-significantly while other bioactive components such as ascorbic acid, carotenoids, total phenols, and antioxidant activity significantly (p<0.05) decreased while maintaining good overall acceptability. Prepared bars can be stored safely for six months at ambient temperature with nutrient constituents intact.