The present work deals with the study of the anthocyanin profile of two different black carrots (Daucus
carota L. ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef.) cultivars, associated with Antonina and Purple Haze varieties,
from Cuevas Bajas (Ma´ laga, Spain) and some of their antioxidant features. The main anthocyanins
detected by LC–MS were found to correspond to five cyanidin-based anthocyanins: cyanidin
3-xylosylglucosylgalactoside, cyanidin 3-xylosylgalactoside and the sinapic, ferulic and coumaric acids
derivative of cyanidin 3-xylosylglucosylgalactoside. The anthocyanins present in the black carrots were
essentially acylated and their levels were found to correspond to 25% and 50% of the total phenolic
content for the Purple Haze and Antonina varieties, respectively. Moreover, the reducing capacity of the
two black carrots extracts (86.4 8.0 and 182.0 27 mM TE/100 g fw) and the radical scavenging ability
(17.6 9.0 and 240.0 54.0 mM TE/100 g fw) expressed in Trolox equivalents units were determined. The
antioxidant features of the black carrot extracts were shown to be significantly higher than those of orange
carrots used herein for comparison. Overall, this work highlights the Cuevas Bajas black carrots as rich
sources of anthocyanins with significant antioxidant capacities and good nutritional value.