Towards better tasting and more nutritious carrots: Carotenoid and sugar content variation in carrot genetic resources

► The total carotenoid and sugar content was assessed in carrot genebank collections. ► It ranged from 0 to 40 mg/100g fw for carotenoids and from 5 to 14% for sugars. ► Orange rooted European accessions were more carotenoid-rich than Asian accessions. ► Advanced cultivars contained on average 20% more carotenoids than landraces. ► Highly nutritionally valuable accessions were identified.