Sweet corn (Zea mays L.) is one of most popular vegetables in the United States and it’s also widely grown and consumed in Asian and Europe. The corn contains carotenoids which not only provide provitamin A carotenoids but also xanthophylls that are important bioactive components for eye health. The method for separation and quantitative determination of the main carotenoids in sweet corn was developed by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Separation was carried out on a YMC Carotenoid, C30, Column, (250 x 4.6 mm; 5µm), column thermostat at 22 °C, using a gradient elution system with solvent mixture A and B (A: 5g/L of ammonium acetate in methanol: acetonitrile (4:15, v/v) and B: ethanol) with flow rate at 1 mL/min. The total analysis time was 35 mins and the detector was set at 450 nm. The major carotenoids in three varieties of sweet corns (yellow, bi-color and white corn) were identified as lutein, zeaxanthin, alpha- and beta-cryptoxanthin, alpha carotene, beta-carotene. The method was validated by determination of detection limit (LOD) and quantification limit (LOQ), linearity, repeatability and precision. The method will be implemented for qualitative and quantitative determination of major carotenoids in sweet corn collected in year 2021. Besides, the method may also be utilized for carotenoid determination for other food samples, and used as a valid tool in food industry to meet human nutritional needs globally.

Development and validation of an HPLC-UV/Vis method for determination of carotenoids in sweet corn

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ACS Fall 2022

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