Carotenoids, vitamins (A, B-2, C and E) and total folate of traditional foods from Black Sea area countries

Sanchez-Silva A., Albuquerque T., Finglas P. M., Ribeiro T., Valente A., Vasilopoulou E., Trichopoulou A., Alexieva I., Boyko N., Costea C. E., Hayran O., Jorjadze M., Kaprelyants L., Karpenko D., D'Antuono L. F., Costa H. S.. (2014)

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 93, 3545-3557

BACKGROUND: Carotenoids, vitamins (A, B 2 , C and E) and total folate are related to health promotion. However, there are still many food matrices for which the content of these compounds is not available. In order to fill this gap, traditional foods from Black Sea Area countries (BSAC) were analysed in order to investigate their potential health benefits. RESULTS: The most abundant carotenoidwas β-carotene. Plum jamwas the samplewith the highest β-carotene content (608μ g 100g −1 edible portion). Thegroup of vegetables and vegetable-based foods contributed most to β -carotene content. Evergreen cherry laurel presented the highest L-ascorbic acid content (29.9 mg 100 g−1 edible portion), while the highest riboflavin and total folate contents were found for roasted sunflower seeds. Approximately 61% of the analysed samples showed quantifiable amounts of α -tocopherol but did not contain retinol. CONCLUSION: Despite the great variability in the content of carotenoids, vitamins and total folate, most of the analysed traditional foods from BSAC can be considered good sources of these compounds. Therefore, owing to their putative health benefits, the consumption of those with higher contents of these compounds should be encouraged and promoted.

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 93, 3545-3557

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