Cultivar Difference of Chlorophyll and Carotenoid Pigments in Broccoli and Cauliflower

Abstract

Chlorophylls and carotenoids from five cultivars of broccoli and cauliflower with various colors of flower heads were analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatohgraphy (HPLC). There were difference in chlorophyll and carotenoid contents among them.The primary pigments in a flower head of green-colored broccoli ‘Green Comet’ were chlorophyll a (1890μg/g) and chlorophyll b (1070μg/g). The flower head contained about 24.1μg/g of β-carotene and 65.2μg/g of xanthophylls. The head of pale green cauliflower ‘Sangosho’ contained 400μg/g of chlorophyll a and 130μg/g of chlorophyll b. As for carotenoids, it contained 6.6μg/g of β-carotene and 24.6μg/g of xanthophylls. A head of purple-colored cauliflower ‘Violet Queen’ contained 580μg/g of chlorophyll a, 240μg/g of chlorophyll b, 3.9μg/g of β-carotene and 24.1μg/g of xanthophylls. Anthocyanin was also detected. The carotenoid contents in flower head of pale yellow cauliflower ‘Orange Bouget’ and white cultivar ‘Snow Dress’, which hardly contained chlororphylls, were very low. Xanthophylls were identified as neoxanthin, violaxanthin, lutein epoxide, zeaxanthin and lutein.β-Carotene isomer composition in broccoli head, 9-cis-β-carotene was higher in percentage than 13+15-cis-B-carotene.