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Composition of Carotenoids in Scenedesmus protuberans: Application of Chromatographic and Spectroscopic Methods

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Abstract

This study aimed to identify and determine the carotenoids from green microalga, Scenedesmus protuberans using analytical techniques. Identification of carotenoids was realized by comparing their absorption and mass spectral data with those of reference standards available and reported values. Chromatographic data were then combined with the spectroscopic information. The separation of carotenoids was achieved by C30 column and high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection was used for their determination. In the present work, the carotenoid content of S. protuberans was found to be 1.45 mg/g of violaxanthin, 2.47 mg/g of all-trans-lutein, 0.15 mg/g of all-trans-α-carotene, 0.55 mg/g of all-trans-β-carotene, and 0.20 mg/g of 9 or 9′-cis-β-carotene. Due to lack of their standards, the amount of all-trans-loroxanthin and cis-isomers of other carotenoids could not be quantified. In order to validate the method, Certified Reference Material (BCR 485-Mixed vegetables) was used. In conclusion, this study can serve as a reference for the analysis of carotenoids in other microalgae.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey for the support of this work through the project TBAG 110 T099 and the Center of Material’s Research at İzmir Institute of Technology for the facilities (SEM and Elemental Analyzer) as well as Spektrotek A.Ş. for the mass analyses (LC-APCI-MS).

Conflict of Interest

Ayşegül Erdoğan has received research grants from The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey and speaker honorarium from The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, and declares that she has no conflict of interest. Ali Çağır declares that he has no conflict of interest. Meltem Conk Dalay has received research grants from The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, and declares that she has no conflict of interest. Ahmet E. Eroğlu declares that he has no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, İzmir Institute of Technology, Urla, 35430, İzmir, Turkey

    Ayşegül Erdoğan, Ali Çağır & Ahmet E. Eroğlu

  2. Department of Bioengineering, Ege University, Bornova, 35100, İzmir, Turkey

    Meltem Conk Dalay

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  1. Ayşegül Erdoğan
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  2. Ali Çağır
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  3. Meltem Conk Dalay
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  4. Ahmet E. Eroğlu
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Correspondence to Ayşegül Erdoğan.

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Erdoğan, A., Çağır, A., Dalay, M.C. et al. Composition of Carotenoids in Scenedesmus protuberans: Application of Chromatographic and Spectroscopic Methods. Food Anal. Methods 8, 1970–1978 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-015-0088-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-015-0088-8

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