The Content of Total Carotenoids, Vitamin C and Antioxidant Properties of 65 Potato Cultivars Characterised under the European Project ECOBREED

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of cultivars on the concentration of antioxidant compounds: total carotenoid content (TC) and vitamin C (VC), and their correlation with the total antioxidant activity (TAA) in 65 potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum) from 10 countries. The TC content revealed a highly significant effect of the year (Y), cultivar (C) and flesh colour (FC). The TC ranged from 101.5 µg 100 g(−1) DM (in cv. Kelly) to 715 µg 100 g(−1) DM (in cv. Mayan Gold). The TC values were weakly correlated with years and higher in yellow-fleshed potatoes than in white-fleshed potatoes (319.9 vs. 175.6 µg 100 g(−1) DM, respectively). The VC content ranged from 1.0 mg 100 g(−1) FM (in cv. Bzura) to 14.8 mg 100 g(−1) FM (in cv. Twinner). The content of VC were higher in yellow-fleshed (6.5 mg 100 g(−1) FM) than in white-fleshed potatoes (5.8 mg 100 g(−1) FM). The highest TAA were observed in cvs. Colleen, Basa, Triplo, Gatsby, Ditta, Twinner, Riviera, Michalina, Damaris, Belmonda, Ambo, Savinja, 12-LHI-6. For these cultivars, the FRAP values were 0.53 µmol TE 100 mg(−1) DM and DPPH 0.55 µmol TE 100 mg(−1) DM. The lowest TAA were observed in cvs.: Owacja, Mayan Gold, Kokra, Magnolia and Kelly. For them, the FRAP and DPPH values were slightly above 0.2 µmol TE 100 mg(−1) DM. It was shown that the concentration of TC in potato tubers has an impact on TAA.