2.3. Determination of carotenoid content
2.3.1. Extraction of carotenoids
The carotenoid content in the samples were extracted using the
method of Olives Barba, Cámara Hurtado, Sánchez Mata, Fernández
Ruiz, and López Sáenz de Tejada (2006). A sample (2 g) was placed
in a vessel, protected from light, and mixed with 100 ml of extraction
solvent (hexane/acetone/ethanol: 50:25:25 v/v/v). The mixture
was magnetically stirred during 30 min; then 15 ml of water
were added. The upper layer was placed in a round-bottomed flask,
and an aliquot of 10 ml of the extract was evaporated to dryness.
The residue was dissolved to a final volume of 4 ml. The final solution
was filtered through 0.45 lm membrane filters and 20 ll were
injected for HPLC analysis.
purity.