QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DIFFERENCES IN THE CAROTENOID COMPOSITION AMONG PUMPKINS GROWN IN THE BELGOROD REGION

КАЧЕСТВЕННЫЕ И КОЛИЧЕСТВЕННЫЕ ОТЛИЧИЯ КАРОТИНОИДНОГО СОСТАВА ТЫКВ, ВЫРАЩЕННЫХ В БЕЛГОРОДСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

Нужных Татьяна Евгеньевна

магистрант, кафедра общей химии, Белгородский государственный национальный исследовательский университет,

РФ, г. Белгород

Дейнека Людмила Александровна

научный руководитель, канд. хим. наук, доц., Белгородский государственный национальный исследовательский университет,

РФ, г. Белгород

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the qualitative and quantitative determination of carotenoids in dried raw pumpkin fruits of six varieties grown on the territory of the Belgorod region.

АННОТАЦИЯ

В данной работе рассматривается качественное и количественное определение каротиноидов в сушеных сырых плодах тыкв шести сортов, выращенных на территории Белгородской области.

Keywords: carotenoids, carotenoid composition, pumpkins, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata.

Ключевые слова: каротиноиды, каротиноидный состав, тыквы, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata.

Pumpkin is an important source of biologically active substances of various chemical nature, which are necessary for the course of vital metabolic processes. Cucurbita (Pumpkin) is a genus in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, one- and perennial herbaceous plants that creep along the ground. There are about 20 species of the genus Pumpkin.

There are three species of pumpkins cultivated in Russia:

- Cucurbita maxima – large-fruited pumpkin with edible fruits of various shapes and sizes, with yellow or orange sweet pulp (may contain up to 15% sugar). Most varieties of large-fruited pumpkins are round and orange, with stripes of white, yellow, green ("Russian", "Smile", "Countrywoman", "Candy"), but there are varieties with green or gray skin ("Altair").

- C. pepo – hard-crusted pumpkin with various shapes, sizes, and colors of fruits; some of the varieties of this species are used for food, although the pulp of the fruit is the least juicy and sweet. Such pumpkins contain the most dietary fiber. Varieties of hard-crusted pumpkin may have oblong fruits of yellow-green color ("Khutoryanka", "Gribovskaya"), however, there are also round orange varieties ("Altai", "Almond").

- C. moschata – nutmeg pumpkin, with juicy and sweet pulp (about 10% sugar). The fruit can be both green and round (for example, "Muscade Agro", "Vitamin", "Blade of Grass"), and have an elongated shape ("Family", "Miracle"). But most often in stores, there is an orange nutmeg pumpkin in the form of a bottle or a pear ("Butternut", "Novelty").

Pumpkins are known as sources of provitamin A (β-carotene), however, it has been found that in some species of C. pepo another carotenoid, lutein, can be synthesized, and in varieties of large-fruited pumpkin, violaxanthin, which are of great importance for human health [1]. At the same time, if the use of lutein-containing pumpkins is beneficial for the physiology of vision, then the use of pumpkins containing violaxanthin can cause various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, allergic reactions, inflammatory processes of the mucous membranes. In European countries, sanitary services have banned the addition of violaxanthin to food.

Studies of the carotenoid content in pumpkin showed a large number of carotenoids occurring (up to 19 different carotenoids), but only two to four carotenoids in each species showed noticeable levels, while other carotenoids represented trace or very small amounts (<3 mcg/g) [1].

Matsuno and co-authors [5] isolated and clarified the structures of two new carotenoids in C. maxima: cucurbitaxanthin A and cucurbitaxanthin B using nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry.

A large number of varieties of pumpkins cultivated all over the world have a different composition of biologically active substances and therefore a different therapeutic and prophylactic purpose. Accordingly, the determination of the content of BAS in pumpkin fruits is important when choosing the seed material and selecting samples for breeding purposes.

In addition to being used directly for food, pumpkin is used as plant raw materials for the production of medicines. The therapeutic effect of this plant is due to the whole complex of BAS in its composition. Even though the vegetable contains mostly ordinary water (about 85%), it also contains vitamins of different groups and other useful components necessary for the normal functioning of our body. The composition of this vegetable includes B vitamins, vitamins A, E, C, PP, K, T, which have a great impact on human health and condition and improve it with constant use [2].

We analyzed dried raw pumpkins of six varieties grown in the Belgorod region: "Butternut", "Orange Sun", "Russian", "Baby", "Smile", and "Countrywoman". To do this, we performed an exhaustive extraction with a mixture of acetone and hexane 2:23 and determine concentration of carotenoids in the obtained extracts on a SPEKS UV spectrophotometer.

According to the results of spectrophotometry, the total content of carotenoids in terms of β-carotene was established: the "Butternut" contains 0,0414 g per 100g, the "Orange Sun" contains 0,108 g/100g, the "Russian" – 0,0841 g/100g, the "Baby" – 0,0496 g/100g, the "Smile" – 0,0268 g/100g, "Countrywoman" 0,0211 g /100g.

Based on the results of a spectrophotometric determination (Fig. 1), pumpkins "Orange Sun" are the richest in carotenoids, and pumpkins "Smile" and "Countrywoman" contain the least amount of carotenoids.

Fig. 1. The total content of carotenoids in terms of β-carotene

By the HPLC method, we established the qualitative carotenoid composition of the pulp of pumpkins of the studied varieties. Thus, the pulp of "Butternut" squash fruits is characterized by the accumulation of a mixture of α-carotene (22.6%) and β-carotene (68.5%). The large-fruited pumpkin of the "Orange Sun" variety is characterized by the accumulation of not only beta-carotene (17.9%) but also lutein (34.7%). Beta-carotene (48.3%) prevails in the pulp of the large-fruited pumpkin of the "Russian" variety, but lutein (12%) is also present. Large-fruited pumpkin of the "Baby" variety contains β-carotene (42.4%), and lutein (9.5%). The predominant component of the carotenoid complex of the pulp of large-fruited pumpkins of the "Smile" variety is β-carotene (40.9%), the pulp also contains lutein (12.7%). Lutein (26.3%) and unidentified epoxy compounds were found in the pulp of large-fruited pumpkins of the "Countrywoman" variety.

Thus, according to the predominance of certain carotenoids, pumpkins of the varieties "Orange Sun" and "Countrywoman" can be attributed to the lutein group of pumpkins, pumpkins of the varieties "Butternut", "Russian", "Baby" and "Smile" to the beta-carotene group of pumpkins.

The results of the current study illustrate the synthesis and accumulation of various carotenoids in six varieties of pumpkins grown in the Belgorod region. The results obtained will be used in further studies of the nutritional value of pumpkins.

References:

1. Azevedo-Meleiro C.H., Rodriguez-Amaya D.B. Qualitative and quantitative differences in carotenoid composition among Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita pepo // J. Agric Food Chem. – 2007. – N 55. – Pp. 4027-4033.
2. Borisenko, V. V. The study of the biochemical composition of pumpkin fruits of the variety "Vitamin" / V. V. Borisenko, B. V. Foliyants // Young scientist. – 2015. – № 22 (102). – Pp. 98-100.
3. Matsuno, T.; Tani, Y.; Maoka, T.; Matsuo, K.; Komori, T. Isolation and structural elucidation of cucurbitaxanthin A and B from pumpkin Cucurbita maxima. Phytochemistry. – 1986. – Vol. 25. – Pp. 2837-2840.