Fatty acid and carotenoid composition of gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng) fruit

摘要

In this study, we analyzed fatty acid and carotenoid composition of fruit tissues, including seed (which are surrounded by a bright red, oily aril) of Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng, known as gac in Vietnam. Carotenoid content was analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC, using a C-30 column and a method separating cis- and trans-isomers of the major carotenoids in this fruit. Mean values obtained in aril tissues were 1342 mug trans-, 204 mug cis-, and 2227 mug total lycopene; 597 mug trans-, 39 mug cis-, and 718 mug total beta-carotene; and 107 mug alpha-carotene/g FW. Mesocarp contained 11 mug trans-, 5 mug cis-beta-carotene/g FW, trace amounts of alpha-carotene, and no lycopene. Gac aril contained 22% fatty acids by weight, composed of 32% oleic, 29% palmitic, and 28% linoleic acids. Seeds contained primarily stearic acid (60.5%), smaller amounts of linoleic (20%), oleic (9%), and palmitic (5-6%) acids, and trace amounts of arachidic, cis-vaccenic, linolenic, and palmitoleic, eicosa-11-enoic acids, and eicosa-13-enoic (in one fruit only) acids.