Chemical and Morphological Characterization of Costa Rican Papaya (Carica papaya L.) Hybrids and Lines with Particular Focus on Their Genuine Carotenoid Profiles

Abstract

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) F1 hybrids and inbred lines grown in Costa Rica were screened for morphological and nutritionally relevant fruit traits. The qualitative composition of carotenoids showed great similarity, being mostly composed of free and esterified β-cryptoxanthins accompanied by β-carotene, lycopene, and biosynthetic precursors. High levels of (all-E)-lycopene and its isomers were distinctive for red-fleshed hybrids, whereas yellow-fleshed fruits were virtually devoid of lycopenes. Because carotenoid levels among the investigated hybrids and lines differed significantly, this study supports the hypothesis of an exploitable genetic variability, and a potential heterotic effect regarding carotenoid expression may be instrumental in papaya-breeding programs. Due to significantly higher levels of provitamin A carotenoids and coinciding high levels of total lycopene, particularly red-fleshed hybrids might represent prospective sources of these compounds. Furthermore, the nutritional value of some genotypes was boosted by substantial amounts of ascorbic acid (up to 73 mg/100 g of fresh weight), which correlated to total soluble solids (R(2) = 0.86).

Carotenoid Deposition in Plant And Animal Foods and Its Impact on Bioavailability

“…For instance, both red-and yellow-fleshed papaya fruits (Carica papaya L.) with different carotenoid profiles are available. In agreement with the abovementioned classification, red-fleshed types contain high amounts of lycopene, whereas β-cryptoxanthin, β-carotene, and carotenoid epoxides are predominant in yellow-fleshed fruits (Schweiggert et al, 2012b). Such differently-colored genotypes were also described for tomato (Table 1), containing either lycopene (red tomato), β-carotene (orange-coloured), δ-carotene (orange-coloured), (Z)-lycopenes (orange-coloured), or lutein (yellow) as predominant pigment (Nguyen et al, 2001).…”

Influence of chromoplast morphology on carotenoid bioaccessibility of carrot, mango, papaya, and tomato

“…summarizes the carotenoid levels in the fruits used for the in vitro digestion experiments, which were within the range of those previously reported(de Jesus Ornelas-Paz, Yahia, & Gardea- Bejar, 2010;Heinonen, Ollilainen, Linkola, Varo, & Koivistoinen, 1989;Schweiggert et al, 2012;Veda, Platel, & Srinivasan, 2007;Vásquez-Caicedo, Sruamsiri, Carle, & Neidhart, 2005). Although the determination of the relative BA of the carotenoids was the…”

“…Carotenoid identification for papaya and tomato fruit samples and respective digesta was carried out by HPLC-MS as described in detail by Schweiggert, Steingass, Esquivel, and Carle (2012). For carrot, mango, and their respective digesta, the HPLC method reported by Pott, Marx, Neidhart, Mühlbauer, and Carle (2003) was used.…”

Preparation of High‐Grade Powders from Tomato Paste Using a Vacuum Foam Drying Method

“…Carotenoids were monitored at 470 nm (lycopene and its isomers) and 450 nm (β‐carotene), while additional UV/Vis spectra were recorded in the range of 200 to 600 nm. Carotenoids were identified and quantitated as described by Schweiggert and others ().…”