Carotenoid pigments in orange, light orange, green and white flesh colored fruits of melon. (Cucumis melo L.)

Abstract

The composition of carotenoids in four flesh colored melon cultivars was studied. The carotenoids were separated by column, thin layer and high performance liquid chromatography and identified by order of absorption affinities on the column and by their absorption spectra. The contents and kinds of carotenoids were as follows: (1) The orange flesh colored melon cultivars 'Iroquois', 'Blenheim Orange', 'Birdie Red', 'Quincy' and 'Tiffany' contained about 9.2 approximately 18.0-mu-g/g beta-carotene as the major pigment; a small amount of phytofluene, alpha-carotene, zeta-carotene and xanthophylls were present. (2) The light orange flesh colored melon cultivar 'Hale's Best' contained about 4.0-mu-g/g beta-carotene; phytofluene, alpha-carotene, zeta-carotene and xanthophylls were also present in small amount. (3) The green flesh melon cultivar 'Earl's Favourite' and 'Fukunoka' and white flesh colored melon 'Barharman'; the components were beta-carotene and xanthophylls.