Determination of Major Carotenoids in Processed Tropical Leafy Vegetables Indigenous to Africa

Viviane Nkonga Djuikwo Djuikwo, Richard Aba Ejoh, Inocent Gouado, Carl Moses Mbofung, Sherry A. Tanumihardjo

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DOI: 10.4236/fns.2011.28109                

Abstract

Tropical leafy-vegetables (n = 21) indigenous to Cameroon, Africa, were collected, processed, and analyzed for carotenoids by HPLC. The processing techniques used were oven drying; sun-drying; squeeze-washing and boiling; and a combination of boiling in alkaline salt and squeeze-washing. Carotenoids included lutein, α-carotene, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, and β-carotene (all-trans, 13-cis, and 9-cis), which varied by species (P < 0.001). With the exception of P. purpureum and H. sabdarifa, lutein and β-carotene were the predominant carotenoids. In the oven dried vegetables, β-carotene was between 15% and 30% of total carotenoids and the values ranged from 7.46 ± 0.04 in T. indica to 39.86 ± 2.32 mg/100 g DW in V. oleifera. Lutein concentrations for these leafy vegetables ranged from 11.87 ± 0.7 in H. sabdarifa to 75.0 ± 3.6 mg/100 g DW in V. colorata and made up > 40% of total carotenoids. Traditional preparation and processing procedures led to significant losses of carotenoids and β-carotene was most affected during sun-drying with a maximum of 73.8% loss observed in A. acanthochiton.

Keywords

Carotenoids, Processing, Vegetables, Vitamin A Component

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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