Abstract: Fraction and changes of pectin substances in five carrot varieties, the main varieties in China,
during the growth of fruits from 60 days to 100 days after sowing were investigated. The study can be used as
a reference for carrot breeding and postharvest comp rehensive utilization. The results showed that the content
of water soluble pectin (WSP) , oxalate soluble pectin (OSP) and total pectin (TP) increased with carrot
growing, however, different trends were observed in content of ASP in different varieties, ASP increased or
unchanged significantly with development of fruits. The acid soluble pectin (ASP) was the main fraction of
pectin substances which reached 75.2% - 91.3% of TP, the second was OSP, 5.8% - 17.9% of TP, and
the third wasWSP, 2.9% - 8.9% of TP. After harvest, TP content of Juhong 1 was the highest among the
five varieties, which reached 12.585 mg/g, but the other four varietiespTP content showed no significant
difference. The correlation between firmness of carrot and pectin content and fraction showed no significant
difference.

Key words: Carrot, Pectin, Fraction