2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Carotenoids are C₄₀ tetraterpenoid natural pigments present in fruits and vegetables. Extraction and precise quantitation of carotenoids is challenging due to their thermolabile and light sensitive nature. Extraction of carotenoids is influenced by different extraction methods, solvent polarity, and the plant matrix. Therefore, it is important to develop an efficient, effective, rapid qualitative and quantitative method for the analysis of carotenoids. In order to determine the optimal extraction conditions for cantaloupe, different blending times (1, 3, and 5 min) and various solvent combinations of chloroform, acetone, methanol and tetrahydrofuran were used. The results demonstrated that chloroform and acetone (1:3) is the optimal solvent for the extraction and chromatographic resolution of carotenoids. The optimized extraction involves fewer operations such as concentration of the extract to avoid the degradation of carotenoids before HPLC. The robustness of the optimized solvent and analytical method were validated using different cantaloupe varieties, tomato, watermelon, oranges, and grapefruit. Carotenoids such as lutein, cryptoxanthin, ζ-carotene, β-carotene, trans-lycopene, and their cis-lycopene isomers such as 5-cis, 7-cis, 9-cis, 11-cis, 13-cis, and 15-cis were successfully separated by HPLC with a triacontyl (C₃₀) stationary phase. This study provides a method for efficient extraction and rapid sample preparation for accurate analysis of carotenoids from different fruits and vegetables. This project based upon the work supported by NIFA-SCRI- 2017-51181-26834 through National Center of Excellence for Melon at the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center of Texas A&M University.