Abstract
Vegetables are consumed worldwide in fresh as well as processed forms. Pumpkin is considered as an important vegetable due to its nutritional values. The objective of this study was to evaluate all the analytical parameters and improve the performance of the methods for the determination of β-carotene in pumpkin flesh, peel, and seed samples using UV-VIS, NIR, and FTIR methods. β-Carotene was measured at 453 nm using the UV-VIS method which showed linear range, 0.1 to 12 µg/mL; R2, 0.999; LOD, 0.034 µg/mL; LOQ, 0.1 µg/mL; RSD, 1.5% to 11%; and percent recovery, 83% to 93%. β-Carotene was also measured at 1415 nm using NIR and at 1710 cm−1 using FTIR spectroscopic methods. The NIR method exhibited linear range, 12.5 to 250 µg/mL; R2, 0.999; LOD, 3.4 µg/mL; LOQ, 10, µg/mL; RSD, 1.8% to 11%; and percent recovery, 92% to 96%, while the FTIR method exhibited linear range, 4 to 100 µg/mL; R2, 0.999; LOD, 1.3 µg/mL; LOQ, 3.9 µg/mL; RSD, 0.69% to 10%; and percent recovery, 95% to 96%. The characteristic analytical data indicated that any of the three newly developed methods could be used for the determination of β-carotene in the pumpkin flesh, peel, and seeds. Acetone was used as the extraction solvent for the UV-VIS and NIR spectroscopic methods, and acetonitrile was used as the extraction solvent for the FTIR method. Content of β-carotene was found higher in pumpkin peel (340–445 µg/g), followed by pumpkin flesh (317–341 µg/g) and pumpkin seed (12–17 µg/g) by the UV-VIS method. β-Carotene content was obtained ((376–451 µg/g) and (289–313 µg/g); (210–287 µg/g) and (102–148 µg/g)) using NIR and FTIR methods in pumpkin peel and flesh, respectively. β-Carotene was obtained higher from pumpkin peel by all the three methods than from pumpkin flesh and seed. The β-carotene content in the pumpkin seed was not detected by NIR and FTIR spectroscopic methods.
Highlights
Pumpkin is considered as an important vegetable crop due to its nutritional values
The objective of the present research work was to evaluate all the analytical parameters to improve the performance of UV-VIS, NIR, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) methods to determine β-carotene content in three parts of the pumpkin flesh, peel, and seed samples
In the case of pumpkin seed, the extract showed the maximum UV-VIS absorption at 440 nm (Figure 4). e shift in absorption maximum and curve shape may be attributed to the different chemical environment in the seed as compared to the flesh and peel. e good selectivity of the newly developed UV-VIS method is evidenced by an overlapping standard and sample spectra, which clearly indicates the reduction of the matrix interference to a negligible levels
Summary
Pumpkin is considered as an important vegetable crop due to its nutritional values. It is widely cultivated and consumed throughout the world. e most common species of pumpkin that are grown and used worldwide are Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita pepo, and Cucurbita moschata [1, 2]. e commonly consumed pumpkin species in Ethiopia is C. maxima (Figure 1). To the best of our knowledge, there is no reported data on β-carotene content in any vegetable, including pumpkin (flesh, peel, and seeds) grown in Ethiopia. E development of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy that operates in the mid-infrared region (4000–400 cm−1) has been proven to be a powerful tool for quantitative determination of β-carotene [12, 16–19]. Each of these methods has its own advantages and limitations. The objective of the present research work was to evaluate all the analytical parameters to improve the performance of UV-VIS, NIR, and FTIR methods to determine β-carotene content in three parts of the pumpkin flesh, peel, and seed samples
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