Abstract:
The paper presents a method for determination of β-carotene
concentration from three maize hybrids (NSSK 444, NSSK 640 and Lovrin
400) carotenoidic extracts using the reversed phase- high performance liquid
chromatography (RP-HPLC). The analysed hybrids were cultivated at the
Didactic Station of the Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine Banat’s
University, Timisoara. In view of a more complete carotenoidic pigments
liberation from the raw material, it was used an improved carotenoids
extraction technique. In this purpose, before of the carotenoidic compounds
solvents extraction, the maize flour was moisten with distilled water and then
treated with ethanol 96 % and let at rest 50 minutes for starch hydrolysis and
advanced liberation of the carotenoids from plants cells. Carotenoidic
pigments extraction was achieved with an organic solvents mixture of
petroleum ether: acetone: ethanol 96% (6:3:1, v:v:v) to colorless. For the
RP-HPLC analysis it was used an Agilent 1100 system equiped with a Zorbax
SB-C18 column, 250 x 4,6 mm and particles size of 5 µm,UV/VIS detector
with variable wavelenght and HPChemStation software. β-Carotene was
identified in all the three maize hybrids. All the three analysed maize hybrids
(NSSK 444, NSSK 640 and Lovrin 400 ) presents a very high β –carotene
content, compared with the literature data concerning β–carotene content in
other maize hybrids. The highest β –carotene content was founded in the
NSSK 444 hybrid (670.30 µg/g), and the lowest in the Lovrin 400 hybrid
(115.50 µg/g). In the NSSK 640 maize flour was founded a β –carotene
content of 444.60 µg/g.
