Total carotenoid and beta carotene contents of other vegetables, roots and tubers, fruits and stored products collected from forest areas of Andhra Pradesh, South India

Three vegetables, 5 roots and tubers, 23 fruits and 3 stored products collected and consumed by tribals of Andhra Pradesh, India were analyzed for total carotenoids (TC) and Beta carotene (BC) contents using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The vitamin A activity expressed as retinol equivalents (RE) was calculated based on the in vivo conversion factor given by WHO. The results of the study indicated that the vegetables, roots and tubers analyzed showed negligible vitamin A activity with TC and BC content ranging from 0.01 to 0.61 and 0.14 to 0.23 mg%, respectively. Among the fruits, Canthium parviflorum contained very high TC (9.51 mg%) and BC (6.10 mg%) contents, and the edible orange color fresh rind portion analyzed had the highest (6.8 mg%) BC content. Other fruits contained negligible content of TC (0.0015 to 1.32 mg%) and BC (0.004 to 0.49 mg%). The edible pulp portion of the fruit (Diosphros melanoxylon contained no BC but the rind portion analyzed fresh and dried had BC) 0.79 and 2.17 mg%, respectively. Tribals were found to have distinct attitudes and beliefs towards food they use or avoid in certain physiological conditions. ©2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers.