Determination of Carotene in Alfalfa

Carotene and protein contents of alfalfa as influenced by variety and certain environmental factors

“…The leaf-plus-petiole fraction constituted 58 per cent of the total dry weight and contained 92 per cent of the total carotene. This carotene value agreed well with the values of 90 per cent reported by Zscheile and Whitmore (1947) and 93 per cent given by Ham and Tysdal (1946).…”

Salt Tolerance of Alfalfa Varieties1

“…Sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium were determined by the methods in use at the Salinity Laboratory ( 10) after wet digestion of the dried plant material with nitric and perchloric acids (7). Carotene was detennined by the method of Zscheile and Whitmore ( 13).…”

The Carotene Content of Several Varieties and Strains of Alfalfa

“…The filtered extract was chromatographed as outlined in the procedure o( Zscheile and Whitmore (5)~ If the dry method of extraction was used, the samples were dried in vacuo at 6o°C for 20 hours and ground to 40 mesh. The chromatographic procedure was that referred to previously (5). The carotene content of the alfalfa was expressed as beta carotene in micrograms per gram of dried material.…”

“…This was caused earlier by a lack of appreciation of the nutritional value of the carotene in the plant and a lack of a rapid, reliable method for carotene determination. Nutritional work (r) showed the value of alfalfa as a vitamin A supplement and rapid chromatographic methods (4,5) for carotene were devised. Data obtained by Ham and Tysdal (2) showed some hybrid crosses to be consistently higher in carotene than others.…”