Determination of Lycopene and β-Carotene in Colour Fruits and Vegetables

Objective Levels of lycopene and β-carotene contained in the deep colour fruits and vegetables being sold at the markets were detemined in order to give scientific data for basic alimentology and public nutrition selection.Methods Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy was used to determine the detecting-wavelength.Reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) coupled with supersonic oscillation,organic solvent extraction and low temperature concentration methods were used.Results The content ranges of lycopene and β-carotene were 7.79×10~(-3)～1.75×10~2 μg/g and 7.50×10~(-3)～9.48×10 μg/g respectively in the samples.Conclusion Lycopene and β-carotene mainly contain in the deep colour fruits and vegetables.The lycopene content of the crimson ones and the β-carotene content of the orange ones are higher.