Carotenoid Pigments in Red, Orange and Yellow Fleshed Fruits of Watermelon (Citullus vulgaris) Cultivars

Abstract

The composition of carotenoids in three different flesh colored watermelon cultivars was studied. The carotenoids were separated by column and thin layer chromatography and identified by order absorption affinities on the column and by their absorption spectra. The contents and kinds of carotenoids were as follows;
1. The red fleshed watermelon cultivar‘Asahiyamato’contained about 35-50μg/g lycopene as the major pigment; a small amount of xanthophylls and a slight amount of phytofluene, β-carotene, ρ-carotene and γ-carotene were present.
2. The major pigment in orange fleshed watermelon cultivar‘Kaho’was β-carotene (14μ/g); phytofluene, ρ-carotene, γ-carotene, xanthophylls and lycopene were also present in small amounts.
3. In the yellow fleshed watermelon cultivar‘Ogon, ’the main components was β-carotene (0.5μg/g) and xanthophylls(2μg/g); phytofluene and lycopene were detected in trace amounts.