Table 1.
Carotenoid content and composition (µg g-1 FW) in the pulp of Navel and Kirkwood Navel at six different stages of development and maturation.
| Carotenoids (µg g-1 FW) | Navel | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June | July | September | October | December | January | |
| Phytoene | 3.20 ± 0.02* | traces | traces | traces | traces | nd |
| Phytofluene | 0.16 ± 0.08* | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd |
| ζ-carotene | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd |
| Neurosporene | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd |
| Lycopene | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd |
| δ-carotene | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd |
| Lutein | 0.17 ± 0.02 | nd | 0.18 ± 0.03 | 0.07 ± 0.01 | 0.38 ± 0.03* | 0.66 ± 0.19* |
| β-carotene | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd |
| A + Z | nd | nd | nd | 0.04 ± 0.01 | 0.88 ± 0.12* | 3.46 ± 0.11* |
| Violaxanthin | 0.67 ± 0.09 | nd | 0.02 ± 0.01 | 0.77 ± 0.21 | 4.60 ± 0.22* | 9.35 ± 0.83* |
| Other xanthophylls | 0.22 ± 0.09 | nd | nd | nd | 1.04 ± 0.65 | 3.35 ± 0.30* |
| Total carotenoids | 4.42 ± 0.42* | traces | 0.20 ± 0.02* | 0.99 ± 0.32* | 6.91 ± 1.25* | 16.82 ± 1.91* |
| Carotenoids (µg g-1 FW) | Kirkwood | |||||
| June | July | September | October | December | January | |
| Phytoene | 37.55 ± 1.55 | 45.19 ± 2.15 | 53.8 ± 4.68 | 70.91 ± 3.30 | 79.20 ± 9.62 | 65.81 ± 4.48 |
| Phytofluene | 3.35 ± 0.13 | 7.8 ± 0.44 | 9.73 ± 1.14 | 9.02 ± 0.30 | 8.63 ± 0.50 | 14.97 ± 0.34 |
| ζ-carotene | nd | nd | nd | nd | 0.12 ± 0.02 | 0.45 ± 0.12 |
| Neurosporene | 0.12 ± 0.02 | 0.44 ± 0.07 | 1.01 ± 0.02 | 1.50 ± 0.16 | nd | 2.34 ± 0.03 |
| Lycopene | 0.19 ± 0.03 | 0.90 ± 0.09 | 2.09 ± 0.44 | 2.50 ± 0.20 | 5.25 ± 0.26 | 5.80 ± 0.06 |
| δ-carotene | traces | 0.20 ± 0.09 | 0.28 ± 0.02 | 0.60 ± 0.20 | nd | 1.01 ± 0.09 |
| Lutein | nd | nd | nd | nd | 0.27 ± 0.02 | 1.07 ± 0.14 |
| β-carotene | 0.15 ± 0.04 | nd | 0.15 ± 0.02 | 0.07 ± 0.01 | 0.34 ± 0.02 | 0.55 ± 0.21 |
| A + Z | nd | nd | nd | 0.08 ± 0.02 | 1.10 ± 0.03 | 2.82 ± 0.14 |
| Violaxanthin | 0.40 ± 0.15 | nd | nd | 0.72 ± 0.02 | 2.62 ± 0.01 | 3.12 ± 0.14 |
| Other xanthophylls | 0.07 ± 0.01 | nd | nd | 0.15 ± 0.06 | 0.46 ± 0.11 | 1.25 ± 0.66 |
| Total carotenoids | 41.83 ± 6.41 | 54.53 ± 8.57 | 67.06 ± 3.68 | 85.549 ± 0.99 | 98.08 ± 0.49 | 99.19 ± 6.86 |
A+Z is the sum of antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin. Violaxanthin is the sum of all E-violaxanthin, 9-Z-violaxanthin and luteoxanthin. Other xanthophylls are the sum of α-cryptoxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, neoxanthin and non-identified xanthophylls ( Table S2 ). Nd, no detected. Traces indicates concentrations lower than 0.05 μg g-1. Data are the mean of three biological replicates ± SD. Asterisks indicate significant differences between Navel and Kirkwood varieties by unpaired Student’s t-test (p<0.05).