I V Prepared for Office of Nutrition Bureau foi- Research and Development U.S. Agency for International Development Washington, D.C. Contract No. DAN-5116-C-00-O114-00 Project No. 936-5116 THE CAROTENOID CONTENT OF FOODS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES C.E. West and E.J. Poortvliet Department of Human Nutrition Wageningen Agricultural University Wageningen, the Netherlands Edited and Produced by Vitamin A Field Support Project (VITAL.) International Science and Technology Institute, Inc. 1616 North Fort Myer Street, Suite 1240 Arlington, Virginia 22209 Phone: (703)841-0652 FAX: (703)841-1597 December 1993 The authors Clive E. West, PhD DSc * Associate Profesor, Department of Human Nutrition, Wvgeningen Agricultural University, Wageningen Co-ordinator, Wageningen Postgraduate Programme in Human Nutrition, Project Manager, FLAIR Eurofoods-Enfant Concerted Action Project of the Coniniissiop ot the European Communities * Visiting Professor, Center for International Health, Emoiy University School ot Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Eric J Poortvlet, MSc * Research Associate, Department of Human Nutrition, Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen Address for correspondence Department of Iluman Nutritn,, Wageningen Agricultural University, 6703 EV Wageningen, the Netherlands Telephone +31-8370-83054 Telefax +31-8370-83342 E-mail" clive west@ et3 voed wau n lous.duym(d.'secretariaat.voed.wau.nl Copyright C. E.West and E.J. Poortvliet, 1993 ii PREFACE For a number of years, those involved with the food approach to combatting vitamin A deficiency in developing countries have been pressing for more infcrmation on the carotenoid content of foods This publication ,rings together data on as many different foods as possible as long as the data met mnmniiim demands of quality It does not include data recently compiled by the Nutrient Composition Laboratory of the United States Department of Agriculture on foods consumed in the United States. This report was revieNed at two "reetings A special meeting held during the X V International Congress of Nutrition in Adelaide (Australia), 26 September - 1 October 1993, * A workshop session of the meeting of the Euzofoods-Enfant Concerted Action Prolect within the framework of the I'LAIR (Food-Linked Agro-Industrial Research) ProLgrammne of the Commniission of the European Communities held in Algaiv Portugal), 10-13 November 1993 In the light of comnients and new data received, the manuscript was revised in the period October-December 1993 Data received before 30 November was considered for inclusion in the database We wish to thank IUr Frances Davidson, Deputy Director of the Off!ce of Nutrition of the Research and Development Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID R&D/N), and Mr Robert Pratt and Ms Mary Linehan who are responsible for managing the \/itamin A Field Report Project (VITAL) of USAID R&D/N at tht International Science and Technology Institute Inc for their help, advice and support throughout the project We wish to express our gratitude to all of those people who supplied data and/or suggested amendments to the manuscript In partIcular we would like to thank I)r Gary Beecher and Ms Joanne Holden of the U S Department of Agriculture Nutrient Conposition Laboratory (Beltsville, MD) for providing further information on the CAREX expert system for evaluating carotenoid data, Professor David Southgate formerly of the Agricultural and Food Research Council Instittte of Food Reseaich in Norwich (U.K ) for his advice in applying the system to the types of data encountered, Dr John Klens~n of the INFOODS Secretariate in Boston (U S A ) for assistance in designing the database, and Ms Esther Reichman and Mis Lous ''uym in Wageningen for assistance in entering the data and for secretarial support Clive E. West Ei ic J Poortvliet Wageningen, December 1993 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface iii 1. Introduction I 2. Methods 3 Identification of resource persons and data 3 Criteria for inclusion of data 4 Data evaluation 4 Development of database files 6 3. Table of the carotenoid content of foods 7 Introductory notes 7 Carotenoid content of food 9 Cereals 9 Dairy products 10 Eggs i Fats 12 Fish 13 Fruil. 15 Meat 61 Oils 62 Vegetables 64 4. Summary of methods used for the analysis of carotenoids 173 5. Local names of foods 181 6. Discussion and recommendations 185 Data available on the carotenoid content of foods 185 Data quality and methods used 186 Recommendations for action 191 7. References 193 Appendices 1. List of people providing information 201 2. Structure and use of database file 203 General layout of the database files 203 Selection of information from database files 206 3. Chemical structure of carotenoids 209 V 1. INTRODUCTION Up until now, programs to combat vitamin A deficiency have been directed largely towards the use of vitamin A supplements and much less effort has been directed towards using locally available foods Most people agree that the use of iich foods is the method of choice for combatting vitamin A dcficiency in the long term The reasons for this are that people can use resources available locally, and that increasing intake of vitainin A-rich and provitamin A-rich foods will also increase the intake of othei nutrients Neither of these conditions can be met by tile use of synthetic preparations of vitamin A provided either as a vitamin A preparation per se or in fortified foods One of the limitations to developing strategies and designing programs for controlling vitamin A deficiency using local foods, and for evaluating such endeavours has been the lack of reliable inforiation on the provitamin A carotenoid content of foods In addition to haM1ng such inforal,tion it is essential that, intile future, more attention should be directed towards tie problem lcarotenoid bioavailability as it is known that bioavailabrliitV can be reduced markedly by tile matri\ in which carotenoids are found, tile fat intake O n1divildtlials, and the nature aid degree ot intestinal parasitism Another liinitation to developiig ,trategies and designing prograns is the lack of understanding ot the tactors intl ucncing food habits with re,,pect to the intake of foods rich in v.tamin A and provitainin A carotenoids When riore inrformation is available on present and realistic future intake of vitamin A and carotenes corrected for their bioavailahiiity, it will be possible to determine to what exten, other measures will need to be taken to incre,tse vitamin A intake of particular groups of various populations In recent years, much progress has been made in the development of methodology for quantifying the content of inldividual carotenoids in foods based on high performance liquid chromatogi aphy (IIPLC) Initially toods were first analyzed by rleasuring the extinction of extracts of foods This method gave an omerestinate of the piovitamin A content of foods as simple extracts 'ilso contain carotenoids which are incapable of being converted to vitamin A It is possible to separate various classes of carotenoids from the provitamiln A carotenoids, particularly those containing oxygen by open column chromatography, and then to measure the extinction of the provitamin A­ carotenoid ,raction This method has proved very useful inproviding information on the provitamin A content of foods lowever, when the necessary infrastructure and equipment are available, IIPLC is the method of choice since it provides data on individual carotenoids This allows specific conversion factors for each carotenoid to be applied for tie calculItioriof vitamin A activity it is also now realized that carotenoids have activity independent of th'tt derivel by their conversion to vitamin A. This activity is attributed largely, but not excluswely, to their ability to serve as antioxidants Recently, a compilation of data on the caroteno-d content of foods consumed in the United States has been prepared by tne Food Composidon Laboratory of the United States Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (97). In the article presenting the data, a carotene data expert system (CAREX) was I presented which enables data on the carotenoid content of foods derived by using HPLC to be evaluated The present work does not include data from this earlier paper but has examined data from other sources with special emphasis being given to data for foods from developing countries It has also used CAREX as the basis for the evaluation of data Since the system is based on data available on US foods, the criteria can afford to be somewhat strict but there are very few data for foods from developing countries which meet even the minimal standards of the CAREX system. Therefore in the present work, criteria for inclusion were relaxed but the quality of the data is indicated. 2 2. METHODS Identirication of resource persons and of data The first step in the process o" collecting data was to identify people engaged now or in the past on analyzing carotenoids in hods, especially from developing countries This "as done by searching the literature, examining proceedings of past meetings of the Interriational V'tam in A ( Onsu lta.itive G roup a1nd of relevant pr(jects of tile Commission of tile l'u rropcmin ( ofmm.nties ('[(.C), aind throLgh personal contacts A letter request iig thatiinformation oi the carote noid coelent of food, be returned to the Project Oflice ,1,.seit ti )Thout 110 people throughout the v%orld After follow­ up arid the meetings at %lijch the draft as reviewed,