title: Novel procedure for the extraction and concentration of carotenoid-containing chromoplasts from selected plant systems.
abstract: Natural sources of carotenoids for nutraceutical use are desired by the food industry as a result of the increased production of convenience and other highly processed foods. As new physiological roles are discovered for some of the minor carotenoids that are found in only small amounts in present sources, the need for discovery of new sources will amplify. Thus, a method is needed that will effectively and gently concentrate carotenoids from potential new sources for subsequent identification and analysis. A procedure is presented by which carotenoid-containing tissue chromoplasts can be extracted and subsequently concentrated by precipitation, all in an aqueous milieu. The chromoplasts are extracted and solubilized with 0.3% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in water. The addition of a nominally equal volume of acetonitrile to the chromoplasts in SDS immediately precipitates the chromoplasts out of solution with generally >90% recovery. Carotenoids contained in the concentrated, still-intact chromoplasts can then be solubilized by organic solvent extraction for subsequent analysis. This methodology offers a means to effectively and gently concentrate carotenoids from fruit tissues where yields are often low (e.g., yellow watermelon).
authors.affiliation: South Central Agriculture Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 159, Highway 3 West, Lane, OK 74555, USA. wfish-usda@lane-ag.org
authors.forename: Wayne W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Fish
mesh_terms: D000097:Acetonitriles; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000032:analysis*; D002458:Cell Fractionation; D011232:Chemical Precipitation; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D010944:Plants / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D018087:Plastids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D000097:Acetonitriles; D002338:Carotenoids; C032159:acetonitrile