Total carotenoids in Murcott

Carotenoids in the peels of Murcott and other 6 citrus fruits were analyzed. The experiment included the effects of solvent and time on the extraction. A fast,accurate,simple and convenient method was developed for the total carotenoids determination. The optimal extraction process used petroleum ether and acetone (1:1,v/v) as the solvent to extract for 3 times. The carotenoids in Murcott peels were significantly higher than those from the other species. The carotenoids concentration was up to (68.09?0.29) mghg-1,which was 6.37 times greater than the lowest,or 2.81 times greater than the average. The carotenoids content in the edible portions of Murcott was (4.49?0.03) mghg-1,which was significantly higher than the others as well. It was 9.55 times greater than the lowest,or 2.27 times greater than the average.