PALM CAROTENOIDS PROFILE AS A QUALITY CONTROL TOOL FOR PALM CAROTENE PRODUCERS: INTRODUCING AN IMPROVISED METHOD BY HPLC-PHOTODIODE ARRAY AND A C_(30) COLUMN

摘要

This study establishes a more detailed HPLC profile of palm carotenoids than that possible from reverse phase C_(18) column analysis that detects 11 types of carotenes but can only partially resolve the cis/trans geometrical isomers. Carotenoid extracts of palm pressed fibre, crude palm oil (CPO) and commercial red palm olein (CRPo) were analysed by HPLC-photodiode array detection using a reverse phase C_(30) column and the palm carotenoids elution sequence was found to be lutein, neurosporene (trans), neurosporene (cis), α-zeacarotene (cis), α-zeacarotene (trans), α-zeacarotene (cis), phytoene, phytofluene, β-zeacarotene, 13 and 13′ cis α-carotene, 13 cis β-carotene, trans α-carotene, 9 cis α-carotene, trans β-carotene, δ-carotene a (cis), δ-carotene b (cis), δ-carotene (trans), γ-carotene a (cis), γ-carotene (trans), γ-carotene b (cis), lycopene (cis) and lycopene (trans). However, ξ-carotene was not detected using this new method The run time for complete analysis was about 200 min.