2.5. Inorganic cation content
Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium were determined on raw carrots or jams as reported by Serio, De Gara, Caretto, Leo, and Santamaria (2004) with minor modifications. Briefly, 25 g of carrots or jams were homogenized with distilled water (1:4, w/v) in a blender. The filtered solution was diluted and analyzed by ion chromatography (Dionex model DX120; Dionex Corporation, Sun- nyvale, CA) with a conductivity detector, using an IonPac CG12A pre-column and an IonPac CS12A separation column.