The carotenoids of some selected Sri Lankan non-leafy vegetables

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the carotenoid content of raw carrot (Daucus carota), pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima), squash (Cucurbita moschata) and yellow, orange sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) commonly available in Sri Lanka. The carotenoid profile was determined by Open Column Chromatography (OCC) and spectrophotometry and quantification was done by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that the major pro-vitamin A carotenoid in each vegetable was β-carotene and the mean (n=6) content of β-carotene, α-carotene and lutein in carrot were 43.8 ± 5.6, 20.5 ± 1.7 and 3.8 ± 0.4 μg/g fresh weight (FW) respectively. In pumpkin, the content of carotenoids ranged from 3.0 to 50.9 μg/g FW for β-carotene, from 1.2 to 27.3 μg/g FW for α-carotene and from 8.2 to 45.8 μg/g FW for lutein. β-carotene and α-carotene concentrations of squash were 6.0 ± 0.8 and 5.1 ± 1.1 μg/g FW, respectively. β-carotene was the only detected carotenoid from sweet potato and it ranged from 14.7 to 59.0 μg/g FW among the five varieties.