Annonaceae Fruits Growing in Coast Region of Kenya as an Alternative Source of Dietary Carotenoids

Abstract

Fruit and vegetables provides most of the carotenoids in the human diet, and their consumption is always an essential requirement for human nutrition due to the presence of bioactive compounds. The study investigated the presence of carotenoids in different parts (pulp, peel and seeds) of the underutilized, exotic fruits Annonaceae family species (Annona squamosa, Annona muricata and Annona reticulata) growing in the coast region of Kenya. HPLC profiling of the pulp extracts revealed the presence of neoxanthin, violaxanthin and zeaxanthin, α-carotene, β-carotene, γ-carotene, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. A. squamosa had higher levels of α-carotene (16.95±0.01), Zeaxanthin (10.45±0.04) and Violaxanthin (12.44±0.17). Lutein (6.62±0.18) and β-carotene (5.77±0.02) were in A. reticulata pulp while the pulp of A. muricata had the lowest levels of all the identified carotenoids. There was no significant difference in levels of the identified carotenoids in the pulp of the three species of Annonaceae fruits (p > 0.05). Results in this study demonstrate that the Annonaceae fruits are good source of antioxidant carotenoids and can be incorporated in the diet to promote human nutritional requirements and health.