Carotenoid composition of berries and leaves from a Cactaceae – Pereskia sp.

Several carotenoids are known to possess many health-promoting properties. Berries from five accessions of Pereskia aculeata Mill. and leaves from 10 accessions of Pereskia aculeata Mill. and Pereskia grandifolia Haw. were evaluated for their carotenoid composition. The xanthophylls found in berries and leaves were mainly unesterified. Berries of four accessions of Pereskia presented very high levels of β-carotene (>20.0 µg/g), and high levels of α-carotene (>5.0 µg/g), while one of these accessions presented very high contents of α-carotene (35.1 µg/g) and β-carotene (39.3 µg/g), together. Leaves presented high levels of carotenes (β-carotene ranged between 13.8 and 47.0 µg/g) and xanthophylls (lutein ranged between 45.8 and 114.2 µg/g and levels of zeaxanthin of four accessions were >5 µg/g). The high levels of α-carotene and zeaxanthin found in berries and leaves, respectively, could be carotenoid biomarker characteristics for Pereskia species, which may be important sources of functional compounds for health-promotion.