Carotenoid composition and vitamin A activity of medicinally important green leafy vegetables

Carotenoid composition of green leafy vegetables (GLVs, n = 30) with medicinal value was analyzed by HPLC; vitamin A activity (as retinol equivalent, RE) of provitamin A carotenoids was calculated. Results show that among GLVs studied, the level of beta-carotene (50130 mg/100 g dry wt) was higher in nine GLVs than other carotenoids while lutein (50-187 mg/100 g dry wt) and zeaxanthin (1-5 mg/100 g dry wt) were higher in 12 GLVs than other xanthophylls. alpha-carotene was detected only in nine GLVs, ranging from 1 to 37 mg/100 g dry wt. Interestingly, Chenopodium album, Commelina benghalensis and Solanum nigrum were found to contain higher levels of both lutem and beta-carotene in the range of 84-187 and 50-115 mg/100 g dry wt, respectively. The values of retinol equivalents (RE) ranged from 641 to 19101 and were higher (> 10,000) in six GLVs of the 30. The results demonstrate that GLVs studied contained higher levels of RE and lutein. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.