Black carrot: From underutilized crop to a new avenue in functional/nutraceutical enrichment applications

In today's transformative era, as people adopt a more health-conscious lifestyle, the popularity of functional food is significantly increasing due to their health benefits. Consequently, functional foods are now being extensively studied for their valuable chemical compositions and associated nutraceutical properties that have potential applications in preventing various diseases. Black carrot ( Daucus carota L. ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef) has gained significant interest from the food industries due to the presence of high amount of bioactive compounds like acylated anthocyanins, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. These compounds are well-known for their health-promoting benefits and disease-preventing attributes against lifestyle diseases like cancer, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular conditions. Furthermore, the bioactive compounds in black carrots show anti-inflammatory ability by regulating the metabolic processes and inflammatory responses. Owing to this, the current review provides updated information regarding the nutritional status and health benefits of black carrots. It discusses the pre-clinical studies conducted on the extract of the black carrot. Furthermore, it discusses their application in food enrichment and highlights their expanding role in commercial markets as health-promoting additives and organic colorants. • Black carrots are considered to be a noteworthy source of bioactive compounds. • Pre-clinical studies have proven the health-promoting activities of black carrots. • Functional foods have been well designed using various factions of black carrot.