%0 Journal Article
%T Screening for Total Carotenoids and ¦Â-Carotene in Some Widely Consumed Vegetables in Nigeria
%A DM Sahabi
%A RA Shehu
%A Y Saidu
%A AS Abdullahi
%J Nigerian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences
%D 2012
%I 
%X Ten different locally grown and widely consumed vegetables were selected for the screening of total carotenoids and a-carotene contents. The pigments were extracted by solvent extraction and the concentrations determined using UV-visible spectrophotometer. Carrot (Daucus carota) has the highest values of both the total carotenoids (397.8 ¡À 2.0 ¨¬g/g) and a-carotene (203.0 ¨¬g/g). Squash (C. moschata) has the lowest concentrations of total carotenoids (20.3 ¡À 2.0 ¨¬g/g) while cabbage has the lowest a-carotene (24.41 ¡À 9.8 ¨¬g/g). These vegetables, if properly processed, may serve as good sources of provitamin A in addition to other nutritional roles. The potentials of these vegetables as candidates for biofortification with a -carotene for the eradication of vitamin A deficiency were discussed.
%U http://www.ajol.info/index.php/njbas/article/view/85349