COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CONCENTRATED TOMATO PRODUCTS ON CAROTENOID CONTENT

Resent scientific works demonstrate that population physical health depends on food quality. One of the important modern problems is lack of biologically active substances such as vitamins, antioxidants, and mineral substances in food. Many of them cannot be synthesized by the human body and must come with food. Tomato paste can be the source of the antioxidants necessary for the human body. The purpose of this work was to determine the content of carotenoids in tomato paste samples. Tomato paste contains a significant amount of carotenoids, mainly β-carotene and lycopene. As a result of experimental studies, the author determined the content of carotenoids, β-carotene and lycopene in tomato paste samples produced in Russia and abroad. It was found out that there is a direct proportion between the content of carotenoids and β-carotene: the higher the content of carotenoids, the higher the content of β-carotene. Proportion of β-carotene in all studied samples is a little more than 12% of the total amount of carotenoids. Consumption of concentrated tomato products by different age and social population groups in Russia will help improve food ration by means of providing β-carotene and lycopene according to the physiological requirements in nutrients