Determination of carotenoids in tomato juice by liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed to determine the various carotenoids in tomato juice. A C30 column and a mobile phase of acetonitrile–1-butanol (7:3, v/v) (A) and methylene chloride (B) with the following gradient elution were used: 99% A and 1% B intitally, increased to 4% B in 20 min, 10% B in 50 min and returned to 1% B in 55 min. Sixteen carotenoids, including all-trans-lutein, all-trans-β-carotene, all-trans-lycopene and their 13 cis isomers were identified and resolved within 52 min with flow-rate at 2.0 ml/min and detection at 476 nm. Of the various extraction solvent systems, the best extraction efficiency of carotenoids in tomato juice was achieved by employing ethanol–hexane (4:3, v/v). Lycopene was found to be present in largest amount in tomato juice, followed by β-carotene and lutein.