Carotenoid content of selected Indonesian fruits

The carotenoid content of 18 fruits (apple. banana. guava, jackfruit, kedondong, kemang, mango. mangosteen, orange, papaya, pineapple, rambutan, salak, sawo. starfruit, tangerine, red watermelon, and yellow watermelon) commonly consumed by children in West Java, Indonesia was determined using reversed-phase HPLC. These fruits were purchased in supermarkets in urban areas, small stores in rural areas, and outdoor markets. The cryptoxanthin. lycopene, and beta -carotene content of these fruits are reported. Large sample-to-sample variation in the same fruit was observed in the cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and beta -carotene content of these fruits. Salak and guava were found to be excellent sources (containing 140 + mug retinol equivalents/100 g) of provitamin A carotenoids, and mango, red watermelon, and papaya are good sources (containing 70 + mug retinol equivalents; 100 g). (C) 2001 Academic Press.