Carotenoid Content in Different Varieties of Pineapple (Ananas Comosus L.) Cultivated in Okinawa Prefecture

Abstract

High-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis was performed to clarify the carotenoid content of 18 pineapple cultivars / lines preserved at the Okinawa Prefectural Agricultural Research Center. According to levels of carotenoid accumulation, 18 cultivars/lines were sorted into three groups. Those in the high-accumulation group contained violaxanthin, 9-cis-violaxanthin and β-carotene in large quantities, and the total amount of carotenoids exceeded 1000µg/100g-FW (e.g. ‘A882’). Those in the middle-accumulation group contained violaxanthin, 9-cis-violaxanthin and β-carotene in medium quantities and had a total carotenoid count in the range of 500 to 1000µg/100g-FW (e.g. ‘Gold-barrel’). Those in the low-accumulation group contained a total carotenoid count of less than 500µg/100g-FW. The low-accumulation group was further divided into a group with only a small amount of carotenoids (e.g. ‘N67-10’) and a group containing almost no carotenoids (e.g. ‘Soft touch’). Grouping according to carotenoid accumulation level coincided well with grouping by classification of flesh color. These results will be useful for increasing carotenoids in pineapple breeding.