Characterization of carotenoids in juice of red navel orange (Cara Cara).

High-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection was applied for the separation and characterization of carotenoids from a red-fleshed navel orange (Cara Cara). Carotenoid pigments were extracted using hexane/acetone/ethanol and saponified using 10% methanolic potassium hydroxide. More than 29 carotenoid pigments were separated within 60 min using a ternary gradient (75% acetonitrile/25% methanol, methyl tert-butyl ether, and water) elution on a C30 reversed-phase column. The presence of lycopene (3.9 ± 1.1 ppm) and a relatively large percentage of β-carotene were distinct differences in the pigment profile of this red navel orange juice as compared to the profile of standard navel orange juice. The juice color in the red navel was much deeper orange than that from navel orange; hue angle ranged from 84.1 to 89.4 for red navel compared to 98.2 to 100.5 for standard navel. Keywords: Carotenoids; red navel orange; HPLC; color; pigment; lycopene