Occurrence of cis-isomers of provitamin A in Brazilian fruits.
Godoy H. T., Rodriguez-Amaya D. B.
Author Affiliation: Departamento de Ciência de Alimentos, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, C.P. 6121, 13081-970 Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 42 : 1306-1313
Abstract : Brazil has a wide variety of tropical, subtropical, and temperate fruits with widely differing carotenoid compositions, providing a good setting for investigating the natural occurrence of cis-isomers of provitamins. Seventy-five samples were analysed. The fruits could be classified into 2 main groups: (1) those having ?-carotene as the principal provitamin and (2) those with ?-cryptoxanthin as the major provitamin. Some fruits also had ?-carotene, ?-carotene, ?-cryptoxanthin and ?-apo-10?-carotenal, usually at low levels. cis-Isomers were not found in cajá (Spondias lutea [S. mombin]), pawpaws (2 cultivars), passion fruits, pitanga (Eugenia uniflora), and West Indian cherry (Malpighia glabra). Traces of 13-cis-?-carotene were found in some samples of loquat, mango (2 cultivars), and piqui (Cariocar villosium [Caryocar villosum]). Buriti (Mauritia vinifera), mamey (Mammea americana), nectarine and peach had 0.1-4.2 µg/g 13-cis-?-carotene and 0.1-1.0 µg/g 9-cis-?-carotene; the latter 2 fruits and piqui also had 0.2-0.4 µg/g neo-?-cryptoxanthin. Overestimations of only 3-10% of the retinol equivalents occurred when the isomers were not separated, indicating that this separation is not important in fresh fruits.