Premium
Carotenoid Composition and Changes in Sweet and Field Corn ( Zea mays ) During Kernel Development
Author(s) -
Song Jiangfeng,
Li Dajing,
Liu Niying,
Liu Chunquan,
He Meijuan,
Zhang Yuan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
cereal chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.558
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1943-3638
pISSN - 0009-0352
DOI - 10.1094/cchem-11-15-0230-n
Subject(s) - carotenoid , neoxanthin , zeaxanthin , lutein , violaxanthin , chemistry , xanthophyll , cultivar , dry weight , botany , food science , biology
Kernels of two carotenoid‐rich cultivars, sweet corn Jingtian 5 and field corn Suyu 29, were compared in terms of carotenoid composition during corn kernel development. The results showed that eight principal carotenoids were characterized by HPLC with diode array detection and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry with a C30 column. During kernel development, there was a similar trend in the change of total carotenoids for both corn cultivars, and the variation of individual carotenoids was also somewhat similar; violaxanthin, zeaxanthin, lutein, α‐cryptoxanthin, and β‐cryptoxanthin contents had upward trends, whereas neoxanthin content declined all the time, and α‐carotene and β‐carotene had no significant changes. However, the highest levels of the major carotenoids lutein (41.61 µg/g, dry weight) and zeaxanthin (39.59 µg/g, dry weight) obtained in field corn Suyu 29 during the milk stage were higher than those in sweet corn Jingtian 5, whereas the other individual carotenoid levels were significantly lower. Compared with the grain color, highly significant positive correlations were observed between zeaxanthin, lutein, and violaxanthin contents and deeper yellow/orange coloration indicators for field corn Suyu 29, but these relationships were weak for sweet corn Jingtian 5. Potential genetic variation might exist for carotenoid accumulation in sweet and field corn kernels.