ABSTRACT: Vitamin A deficiency is the third most important micronutrient deficiency having a significant impact on public health worldwide. The aim of this study was to develop a carotenoid extraction process with edible vegetable oils, using a central composite design which, concurrently, enriches the oils with provitamin A carotenoids. The stability of carotenoids in the oil and their shelf life was also evaluated. The process also aimed to meet the Recommended Daily Intake for vitamin A (600 μg retinol equivalent for an adult) with the enriched oil. The results showed that 20 % of the vegetable matrix (dried carrot) in vegetable oil and 5 min of extraction time was an optimum combination for both soy oil (64.43 μg retinol equivalent mL−1) and olive oil (62.98 μg retinol equivalent mL−1). Furthermore, the ingestion of just a spoonful (∼10 mL) of the enriched oils would meet the Recommended Daily Intake for vitamin A (600 μg retinol equivalent), and, thus, it was possible to affirm that a dose of vegetable oils enriched with provitamin A contributes to meeting the Recommended Daily Intake for vitamin A. The proposed process is based on simple and low-cost technology that can be used to enrich edible oils (soybean and olive oil) with provitamin A.

ABSTRACT Acylated anthocyanins from a purple-fleshed sweet potato (PFSP), obtained by organic cultivation in Brazil, were characterized after separation by a high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-PDA). These anthocyanins were manually collected at the detector output, concentrated and injected into a high resolution mass spectrometer (ESI-QTOF-MS2). Twenty-two acylated anthocyanins were detected. Among them, sixteen had been reported in the literature and six, derived from peonidin were reported for the first time in sweet potato roots in this study. These compounds showed molecular ions with accurate mass/charge ratios (m/z) of 909.2081, 961.3010, 961.2571, 963.3345, 1123.2932 and 1179.3862. Although anthocyanins in PFSP have already been extensively studied, the variety studied in this work is probably genetically different from all varieties and cultivars already researched, which would explain why these anthocyanins have not been observed in the previously studied varieties.

In order to generate simple, efficient analytical methods that are also fast, clean, and economical, and are capable of producing reliable results for a large number of samples, a micro scale extraction method for analysis of carotenoids in vegetable matrices was developed. The efficiency of this adapted method was checked by comparing the results obtained from vegetable matrices, based on extraction equivalence, time required and reagents. Six matrices were used: tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), carrot (Daucus carota L.), sweet potato with orange pulp (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.), pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai) and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) flour. Quantification of the total carotenoids was made by spectrophotometry. Quantification and determination of carotenoid profiles were formulated by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with photodiode array detection. Microscale extraction was faster, cheaper and cleaner than the commonly used one, and advantageous for analytical laboratories.

Romã (Punica granatum L.) é um fruto com um longo histórico medicinal, especialmente devido aos compostos fenólicos presentes em sua composição, como as antocianinas, as quais são relatadas como um dos mais importantes antioxidantes naturais. A análise de antocianinas por Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Eficiência (CLAE) pode ser considerada uma ferramenta importante para avaliar a qualidade do suco de romã. Para os laboratórios de pesquisa, o maior desafio para a análise quantitativa pela técnica de CLAE é a aquisição de padrões analíticos de alta pureza, uma vez que eles são caros e, em alguns casos, não se encontram disponíveis comercialmente. O objetivo deste estudo foi obter padrões analíticos para a análise qualitativa e quantitativa de antocianinas da romã. Cinco matrizes vegetais (flor de romã e frutos de jambolão, jabuticaba, amora e morango) foram usadas para isolar cada uma das seis antocianinas presentes no fruto da romã, usando a escala analítica com detecção não destrutiva, sendo possível usá-las posteriormente como padrões analíticos. Além disso, as suas identidades foram confirmadas pela técnica de espectrometria de massa de alta resolução. O procedimento proposto mostrou que é possível obter padrões analíticos de antocianinas com elevado grau de pureza (98,0%-99,9%) a partir de fontes naturais e provou ser uma estratégia econômica para os laboratórios que necessitam adquirir padrões, de acordo com as necessidades de suas pesquisas.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is a fruit with a long medicinal history, especially due to its phenolic compounds content, such as the anthocyanins, which are reported as one of the most important natural antioxidants. The analysis of the anthocyanins by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can be considered as an important tool to evaluate the quality of pomegranate juice. For research laboratories the major challenge in using HPLC for quantitative analyses is the acquisition of high purity analytical standards, since these are expensive and in some cases not even commercially available. The aim of this study was to obtain analytical standards for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the anthocyanins from pomegranate. Five vegetable matrices (pomegranate flower, jambolan, jabuticaba, blackberry and strawberry fruits) were used to isolate each of the six anthocyanins present in pomegranate fruit, using an analytical HPLC scale with non-destructive detection, it being possible to subsequently use them as analytical standards. Furthermore, their identities were confirmed by high resolution mass spectrometry. The proposed procedure showed that it is possible to obtain analytical standards of anthocyanins with a high purity grade (98.0 to 99.9%) from natural sources, which was proved to be an economic strategy for the production of standards by laboratories according to their research requirements.