THE DETERMINATION AND CONTENTS OF LUTEIN,ZEAXANTHIN AND ?-CAROTENE IN VEGETABLES IN BEIJING REGION / 营养学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To determine the contents of lutein,zeaxanthin and ?-carotene in 31 vegetables.Method High performance liquid chromatography method with Develosil C30 column and ultraviolet detector was used to detect lutein,zeaxanthin and ?-carotene at wavelength of 480nm.A gradient elution method with elution A (acetonitrilemethol=7525) and B (methyl-tert-butyl-ether) was used to separate the carotenoids in both raw and cooked vegetables.Results The retention time of lutein,zeaxanthin and ?-carotene was 10.355,10.732 and 20.789 min respectively.The contents of lutein,zeaxanthin and ?-carotene were linearly related with the peak area.Analysis showed that dark leafy vegetable such as amaranth,Chinese celery leaf,parsley,spinach and pakchoi petiole contained the highest amount of lutein.Zeaxanthin was detected only in dehydrated daylily.There was little or no loss of lutein,zeaxanthin and ?-carotene but an average increase in lutein and ?-carotene in vegetables after cooking.Conclusion Vegetables,especially dark leafy vegetables are major sources of dietary lutein,and ?-carotene.Consuming cooked vegetables tends to increase the intakes of lutein,zeaxanthin and their bioavailability.