The carotenoid pigments of the yellow and orange flesh varieties of the pumpkins Cucurbita moschata and C.maxima were identified and quantified, α‐Carotene, β‐carotene, ζ‐carotene, β‐carotene 5,6‐epoxide, β‐cryptoxanthin, lutein, taraxanthin, zeaxanthin, luteoxanthin and auroxanthin were detected in the pumpkins. The difference was that the yellow variety of C. moschata had no zeaxanthin. The quantitative patterns of the two varieties were similar. Although some quantitative variation was observed, lutein, β‐carotene and luteoxanthin predominated. The difference in the color between the two varieties resulted from these quantitative differences in carotenoid composition. The vitamin A activity of the C. moschata variety with yellow flesh was higher than that of the C. maxima, which had many oxygenated carotenoids.

In previous papers, the authors reported that a strain of Pen. sp.-1 produced inulase in large amount when inulin was used as only carbon source in culture medium.

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