Keywords
tomato products
carotenoids
γ-carotene
How to Cite
Abstract
Tomato and tomato paste are among the most consumed foodstuffs worldwide. Although their carotenoid compositions have been widely determined, some inconsistencies can be discerned in the
literature. In Brazil, γ-carotene was detected in fresh tomato but not in various tomato products, using
open column chromatography (OCC). On the other hand, very high amounts of this carotenoid were obtained in American tomato products, using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Thus,
this work was carried out to verify if the difference in data was due to natural variation or an artifact of the analysis. In fresh tomato, 11 carotenoids were identified: trans-lycopene, phytoene, phytofluene, β-carotene, lutein, 13-cis-lycopene, 15-cis-lycopene, γ-carotene, trans-ζ-carotene, cis-ζ-carotene, and neurosporene. In tomato paste, aside from the mentioned carotenoids, cis-β-carotene and four unidentified carotenoids were also detected. γ-Carotene was found in comparable concentrations in Brazilian and American tomato pastes, at levels much lower than β-carotene, apparently below the detection limit of OCC. The removal
of the peel and the maturity stage of the fresh tomatoes could not explain the loss of γ-carotene in Brazilian tomato pastes, indicating that degradation was involved. The results do not lend support to the high levels of γ-carotene in American tomato products.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2003 Revista do Instituto Adolfo Lutz
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