Carotenoid bioaccessibility in pulp and fresh juice from carotenoid-rich sweet oranges and mandarins

Abstract

Citrus fruits are a good source of carotenoids for the human diet; however, comparative studies of carotenoids in different citrus food matrices are scarce. In this work the concentration and bioaccessibility of carotenoids in sweet oranges and mandarins with marked differences in carotenoid composition were evaluated in pulp and compared to those in fresh juice. The pulp and juice of the red-fleshed Cara Cara sweet orange variety was highly rich in carotenes (mainly lycopene and phytoene) compared to standard Navel orange, while β-cryptoxanthin and phytoene predominated in mandarins. Total carotenoid content in the pulp of the ordinary Navel orange and in the red-fleshed Cara Cara orange, as well as in the Clementine mandarin were higher than in the corresponding juices, although individual carotenoids were differentially affected by juice preparation. Bioaccessibility of the bioactive carotenoids (the ones described to be absorbed by humans) was greater in both pulp and juice of the carotenoid-rich Cara Cara orange compared to the Navel orange while increasing levels of β-cryptoxanthin were detected in the bioaccessible fractions of pulp and juice of mandarins postharvest stored at 12 °C compared to freshly-harvested fruits. Overall, results indicated that higher soluble bioactive carotenoids from citrus fruits and, consequently, potential nutritional and health benefits are obtained by the consumption of pulp with respect to fresh juice.

Influence of orange cultivar and mandarin postharvest storage on polyphenols, ascorbic acid and antioxidant activity during gastrointestinal digestion

“…Fruit pulps and juices from sweet blonde-flesh orange Washington Navel (N) (C. sinensis L.) and its spontaneous red-fleshed mutant Cara Cara (CC) (rich in lycopene) and freshly harvested Clementine mandarin (C. clementina L.) (M) (rich in βcryptoxanthin) and after a postharvest storage at 12 ºC for 5 weeks (M12), were studied. Origin and treatment of fruit samples has been previously described by Rodrigo et al (2015).…”

An Integrated Approach to Mandarin Processing: Food Safety and Nutritional Quality, Consumer Preference, and Nutrient Bioaccessibility

“…Limonene is the most common compound, followed by the β‐myrcene, 3‐carene, α‐pinene, and others (Tao and others ). The edible portion of the raw mandarin fruit (about 74% of fresh weight) is a valuable source of antioxidants, such as vitamin C, carotenoids and phenolic compounds, as well as sugars, organic acids, amino acids, pectin, minerals, and volatile organic compounds (Ye and others ; Matsumoto and Ikoma ; Zhang and others ; Rodrigo and others ; Antoine and others ; Chen and others ). Approximately 4 mandarins (Table ) can provide the recommended daily values for vitamin A and C, in both men and women (Smolin and Grosvenor ).…”

“…In another study, the carotenoid content and bioaccessibility of clementine mandarins (pulp and fresh juice) was evaluated, after simulated gastrointestinal digestion, and then compared with that of red‐fleshed Cara Cara (CC) sweet oranges and Washington Navel (WN) oranges (Rodrigo and others ). The predominant carotenoids in clementine mandarins were β‐cryptoxanthin and phytoene, while for red‐fleshed Cara Cara sweet oranges (pulp and juice), they were carotenes and phytoene, and for navel oranges the predominant carotenoids were phytofluene, lycopene, 9‐ Z ‐violaxanthin and antheraxanthin.…”

“…However, total carotenoid bioaccessible content was higher in CC pulps. Rodrigo and others () observed that CC displayed the highest percentage (17.7%) and total amount (3430 ± 277 ng/g fresh weight (FW)) of bioaccessible total carotenoids in juices, followed by mandarins (7.7% of bioaccessibility and a total amount of bioaccessible carotenoids of 453 ± 22 ng/g FW). Moreover, the authors also found a significant increase in the relative bioaccessibilities of phytoene, β‐carotene, β‐cryptoxanthin, and zeaxanthin in mandarins after refrigerated storage for 5 wk at 12 °C and higher relative bioaccessibilities for phytoene, β‐carotene, β‐cryptoxanthin in mandarin pulps than in juices (Rodrigo and others ).…”

New Method for Carotenoid Extraction and Analysis by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS in Freeze-Dried Citrus and Mango Pulps

“…6 Most studies concerning orange carotenoids are carried out in the juice; however, carotenoids retained in the juice vesicle membrane can be lost during juice processing, especially when a filtration step is applied. 7 Therefore, the analysis of the whole pulp, including juice vesicles, is necessary when quantification of the actual carotenoid composition of orange pulp is required. Moreover, freezedrying fruits is an usual approach in laboratories, enabling posterior analysis of such samples.…”