PepoLutein – a dietary supplement extracted from the epicarp of Cucurbita pepo l. var. Giromontia fruits

Authors:
E. Muntean

This paper presents a laboratory-scale procedure for producing a natural dietary supplement, using as plant matrix the epicarp of Cucurbita pepo L. var. giromontina fruits. The final product contains a mean value of 104.45 µg lutein/ ml extract. HPLC analysis of the saponified extract revealed that besides the only major carotenoid, there are also minor amounts of violaxanthin, neoxanthin, lactucaxanthin and β-carotene. Traces of α-cryptoxanthin, β- cryptoxanthin, α-carotene and 15, 15’ Z - β, β - carotene were also detected.