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The Carotene Content of Cuban Foods

Department of Experimental Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba

The carotene content of seventy-five samples of forty-three Cuban plant foods was determined by the chromatographic technique of Wall and Kelley. Of the eight mango varieties assayed, three gave the highest values ever recorded among fruits. These values were higher than those for carrots and similar to the highest reported for spinach, both vegetables being analysed in the United States. Of the remaining mango varieties, several gave values similar to those reported from other countries. In one sample of the Moro variety 77% of the carotene proved to be beta-carotene. This variety had 115, 139.5 and 164 µg of carotene per gram of pulp, respectively, in three samples. In general Cuban fruits are richer in carotene than the American and Mexican grown varieties.

The mango, canistel, mamey de Santo Domingo and red cashew nut had the highest values among Cuban fruits. A listing of the remaining "good" foods in order of decreasing carotene content gives the following: red pepper, yellow malanga, ripe plantain, muskmelon, tangerine, Placero tomato, guava, red mamey, okra and Johnson banana. Other foods would be rated appreciably below these; and the soursop, coconut, prú, grapefruit and peanut oil either lack carotene or have it in non-measurable amounts.