Abstract
The composition of carotenoids in three different root colored carrot (Daucus carota L.) cultivars was studied. The carotenoids were separated by column and thin layer chromatography and identified by order adsorption affinities on the column and by their absorption spectra. The contents and kinds of carotenoids were as follow; (1) The red root carrot cultivar 'Wase Kintoki' and 'Honkou Kintoki' contained lycopene (80-140μg/g) as the major pigment; a small amount of xanthophylls, phytofluene, α-carotene, β-carotene and ζ-carotene were present. (2) The major pigments in orange root carrot cultivar 'Kuroda Gosun' were α-carotene (17-25μg/g) and β-carotene (27-33ug/g); phytofluene, ζ-carotene, xanthophylls and lycopene were also present in small amounts. (3) In the yellow root carrot cultivar 'Shimaninjin', the main pigment was xanthophylls (12-16ug/g); a slight amount of phytofluene, α-carotene, β-carotene and lycopene were present.
