Caryocar brasiliense Camb. fruits from the Brazilian Cerrado as a rich source of carotenoids with pro-vitamin A activity

Abstract Caryocar brasiliense Camb. is the best-known fruit of the Brazilian Cerrado. This fruit has yellow pulp containing several carotenoids and has a strong and exotic flavor; however, its composition may vary due to factors such as genotypic differences, seasonality, cultivation forms, climatic and soil characteristics, maturation stage, type of storage and processing. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the chemical composition of carotenoids with pro-vitamin A activity of C. brasiliense fruits from 18 Brazilian municipalities. The vitamin A value expressed as μg Retinol Activity Equivalent (RAE) in the fresh fruit and carotenoid profile were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode array detector (HPLC- DAD). The main carotenoids found were β-cryptoxanthin and β-carotene. High variation in vitamin A values were observed, especially among the fruits from Gato-Preto-MA with (1.4 µg RAE/100 g fresh fruit) and Januaria-MG (719 µg RAE/100 g fresh fruit). PC1 and PC2 explored about 98.80% of the data variance in the multivariate analysis, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) and organized the C. brasiliense fruits in three clusters by decreasing vitamin A values. The fruits from the municipalities of Januaria, Japonvar, Arinos, Salinas and Montes Claros showed higher carotenoid content.