Development of a Rapid UPLC Method for Analysis of Carotenoids in Goji Berry Extract and Evaluation of Their Transformation Affected by Saponification

Goji berry (<i>Lycium barbarum</i> L.), also known as wolfberry, is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb widely utilized as a functional food ingredient throughout East Asia. In this study, we developed a rapid high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) metho...

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Main Authors: Bo-Yang Hsu, Chia-Hui Lin, Tsai-Hua Kao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Molecules
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/29/23/5684
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author Bo-Yang Hsu
Chia-Hui Lin
Tsai-Hua Kao
author_facet Bo-Yang Hsu
Chia-Hui Lin
Tsai-Hua Kao
author_sort Bo-Yang Hsu
collection DOAJ
description Goji berry (<i>Lycium barbarum</i> L.), also known as wolfberry, is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb widely utilized as a functional food ingredient throughout East Asia. In this study, we developed a rapid high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method for the simultaneous separation of carotenoids in goji berries. This method successfully separates 17 carotenoids and their esters within 21 min using a Sunrise C30 column, with detection at 450 nm, a flow rate of 1.3 mL/min, and a column temperature of 25 °C. Method validation showed intra-day precision ranging from 0.97% to 6.21% and inter-day precision from 0.99% to 7.01%, demonstrating this method effectively minimizes analysis time while providing high separation efficiency and sensitivity. Goji berries extracted with a mixture of n-hexane/ethanol/acetone (1:1:1, <i>v</i>/<i>v</i>/<i>v</i>) and then saponified with a 40% potassium hydroxide methanol solution can completely convert carotenoid esters into free monomer forms. The highest carotenoid content in goji berry was all-<i>trans</i>-zeaxanthin (1721.94 ± 81.01 μg/g), followed by 9- or 9′-<i>cis</i>-zeaxanthin (79.53 ± 3.92 μg/g), 15- or 15′-<i>cis</i>-zeaxanthin (43.71 ± 2.17 μg/g), 9- or 9′-<i>cis</i>-zeaxanthin (36.51 ± 1.81 μg/g), all-<i>trans</i>-β-cryptoxanthin (25.76 ± 1.55 μg/g), all-<i>trans</i>-β-carotene (5.71 ± 0.83 μg/g), and 13- or 13′-<i>cis</i>-β-carotene (0.86 ± 0.13 μg/g).
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spelling doaj-art-2b31915c1f4e4e1f91f13c65025809972025-08-20T02:38:48ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492024-11-012923568410.3390/molecules29235684Development of a Rapid UPLC Method for Analysis of Carotenoids in Goji Berry Extract and Evaluation of Their Transformation Affected by SaponificationBo-Yang Hsu0Chia-Hui Lin1Tsai-Hua Kao2Department of Food Science, National Ilan University, Yilan County 260, TaiwanDepartment of Food Science, Fu Jen University, New Taipei City 242, TaiwanDepartment of Food Science, Fu Jen University, New Taipei City 242, TaiwanGoji berry (<i>Lycium barbarum</i> L.), also known as wolfberry, is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb widely utilized as a functional food ingredient throughout East Asia. In this study, we developed a rapid high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method for the simultaneous separation of carotenoids in goji berries. This method successfully separates 17 carotenoids and their esters within 21 min using a Sunrise C30 column, with detection at 450 nm, a flow rate of 1.3 mL/min, and a column temperature of 25 °C. Method validation showed intra-day precision ranging from 0.97% to 6.21% and inter-day precision from 0.99% to 7.01%, demonstrating this method effectively minimizes analysis time while providing high separation efficiency and sensitivity. Goji berries extracted with a mixture of n-hexane/ethanol/acetone (1:1:1, <i>v</i>/<i>v</i>/<i>v</i>) and then saponified with a 40% potassium hydroxide methanol solution can completely convert carotenoid esters into free monomer forms. The highest carotenoid content in goji berry was all-<i>trans</i>-zeaxanthin (1721.94 ± 81.01 μg/g), followed by 9- or 9′-<i>cis</i>-zeaxanthin (79.53 ± 3.92 μg/g), 15- or 15′-<i>cis</i>-zeaxanthin (43.71 ± 2.17 μg/g), 9- or 9′-<i>cis</i>-zeaxanthin (36.51 ± 1.81 μg/g), all-<i>trans</i>-β-cryptoxanthin (25.76 ± 1.55 μg/g), all-<i>trans</i>-β-carotene (5.71 ± 0.83 μg/g), and 13- or 13′-<i>cis</i>-β-carotene (0.86 ± 0.13 μg/g).https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/29/23/5684goji berrysaponificationcarotenoidszeaxanthinUPLC-DAD
spellingShingle Bo-Yang Hsu
Chia-Hui Lin
Tsai-Hua Kao
Development of a Rapid UPLC Method for Analysis of Carotenoids in Goji Berry Extract and Evaluation of Their Transformation Affected by Saponification
Molecules
goji berry
saponification
carotenoids
zeaxanthin
UPLC-DAD
title Development of a Rapid UPLC Method for Analysis of Carotenoids in Goji Berry Extract and Evaluation of Their Transformation Affected by Saponification
title_full Development of a Rapid UPLC Method for Analysis of Carotenoids in Goji Berry Extract and Evaluation of Their Transformation Affected by Saponification
title_fullStr Development of a Rapid UPLC Method for Analysis of Carotenoids in Goji Berry Extract and Evaluation of Their Transformation Affected by Saponification
title_full_unstemmed Development of a Rapid UPLC Method for Analysis of Carotenoids in Goji Berry Extract and Evaluation of Their Transformation Affected by Saponification
title_short Development of a Rapid UPLC Method for Analysis of Carotenoids in Goji Berry Extract and Evaluation of Their Transformation Affected by Saponification
title_sort development of a rapid uplc method for analysis of carotenoids in goji berry extract and evaluation of their transformation affected by saponification
topic goji berry
saponification
carotenoids
zeaxanthin
UPLC-DAD
url https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/29/23/5684
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AT chiahuilin developmentofarapiduplcmethodforanalysisofcarotenoidsingojiberryextractandevaluationoftheirtransformationaffectedbysaponification
AT tsaihuakao developmentofarapiduplcmethodforanalysisofcarotenoidsingojiberryextractandevaluationoftheirtransformationaffectedbysaponification