Carotenoids from Byrsonima crassifolia: Identification, quantification and in vitro scavenging capacity against peroxyl radicals

The composition of carotenoids from murici fruit (Byrsonima crassifolia), a fruit native to North and Northeast regions of Brazil, was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array and mass spectrometry detectors (HPLC-DAD-MS/MS). Sixteen compounds were found in murici and 13 carotenoids were identified or tentatively identified. The major carotenoids were (all-E)-lutein (17.3 ± 1.2 μg/g of dry weight) and (all-E)-zeaxanthin (3.5 ± 0.2 μg/g of dry weight). Xanthophylls were the predominant carotenoids in murici, representing 94% (w/w) of the total carotenoids. The carotenoid extract was shown to be a potent scavenger of peroxyl radical, being almost 13 times more potent than α-tocopherol. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that the detailed description of the carotenoid composition of murici is reported.