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अमूर्त

β-carotene Content of Some Commonly Consumed Vegetables and Fruits Available in Delhi, India.

Richa Pritwani and Pulkit Mathur

Most of the vitamin A in the diet comes from plant food sources in developing countries. This study was designed with an objective of determining β-carotene content of a total of 26 types of green leafy vegetables, tubers, other vegetables and fruits obtained from four wholesale markets in Delhi, India using HPLC. There was a wide variation in β-carotene content of green leafy vegetables, with means ranging from 2199 μg/100 g in Basella rubra to 7753 μg/100 g in Amaranthus gangeticus. A large variation was observed in β-carotene content of fruits and the mango varieties tested, ranging from undetectable levels in strawberry and 808.60 μg/100 g in totapuri mango up to 11789 μg/100 g in alphonso mango. Approximately 65 g and 100 g of a green leafy vegetable would meet daily requirement of a preschooler and older child/adult respectively. Mango has considerable amount of β-carotene, and consuming a medium-sized bowl by preschool children would meet 99% of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA). The information generated is useful in identifying types of fruits and vegetables with higher concentration of the provitamin A in low income economies where fruits and vegetables are expensive. Individuals need to consume only small quantities of these vitamin A rich foods to meet daily requirement.