Kiwifruit was also analyzed for their carotenoids content
(Table 2). Among carotenoids only lutein and ß-carotene were
detectable and lutein was the most abundant. The average lutein
content in kiwifruit was 0.2 mg/100 g. Lutein content was the
highest in Borgo Podgora kiwifruit (0.46 mg/100 g) compared to
the other orchards (P < 0.05). The average ß-carotene content was
0.06 mg/100 g. Even in this case kiwifruit grown in Borgo Podgora
orchard showed the highest content of both lutein and ß-carotene
(P < 0.05), while Doganella orchard the lowest. Large variation in
lutein content in fruit is well known (Hart and Scott, 1995);
nonetheless, the literature data on carotenoids content in kiwifruit
were similar to those found in the present study (Cano, 1991;
McGhie and Ainge, 2002; D’Evoli et al., 2009), while higher values
were reported by Nishiyama (2007).