Accepted Manuscript

Carotenoids, Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid content in Yellow Passion Fruit

(Passiflora Edulis) Grown Under Different Cultivation Systems
Paula Becker Pertuzatti, Marla Sganzerla, Andressa Carolina Jacques, Milene
Teixeira Barcia, Rui Carlos Zambiazi
PII:

S0023-6438(15)00380-1

DOI:

10.1016/j.lwt.2015.05.031

Reference:

YFSTL 4687

To appear in:

LWT - Food Science and Technology

Received Date: 28 February 2015

Revised Date:

13 May 2015

Accepted Date: 15 May 2015

Please cite this article as: Pertuzatti, P.B., Sganzerla, M., Jacques, A.C., Barcia, M.T., Zambiazi,
R.C., Carotenoids, Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid content in Yellow Passion Fruit (Passiflora Edulis)
Grown Under Different Cultivation Systems, LWT - Food Science and Technology (2015), doi: 10.1016/
j.lwt.2015.05.031.
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Carotenoids, Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid content in Yellow Passion Fruit (Passiflora Edulis)
Grown Under Different Cultivation Systems

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Paula Becker Pertuzattia*, Marla Sganzerlab, Andressa Carolina Jacquesc, Milene Teixeira Barciab, Rui
Carlos Zambiazid

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Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos, Campinas 13083-862, So Paulo, Brazil

Universidade Federal do Pampa, Campus Bag, Bag 96413170, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

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* Corresponding Author: paulapertuzatti@yahoo.com.br

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Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Centro de Cincias Qumicas, Farmacuticas e de Alimentos, Pelotas 96010-900, Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil

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Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Campus Universitrio do Araguaia, Barra do Garas 78600-000, Mato Grosso,
Brazil

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ABSTRACT

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The present study aimed to identify and compare the content of tocopherols, ascorbic acid and

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carotenoids in yellow passion fruit grown under different cultivation systems. The passion fruits were

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obtained from two systems: an organic pesticide-free system and a conventional system. Samples from

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both systems were obtained in 2008 from the same private property in Florianpolis, SC/Brazil. The

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tocopherols, carotenoids, and ascorbic acid analysis were carried out using high-performance liquid

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chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that the passion fruit grown under the organic cultivation

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approach contained a higher content of tocopherols than those cultivated using conventional methods

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(0.061 and 0.052 mg of tocopherols.100g-1 of fresh fruit, respectively). The major component in the

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samples produced by both systems was -tocopherols, which were found at a concentration of 0.045

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mg.100g-1 in the organic fruits and 0.042 mg.100g-1 in the conventional fruits. The amount of total

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ascorbic acid was 2.3x102 and 1.9x102 mg.100g-1 in the samples from the organic and conventional

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systems respectively. The quantification of individual carotenoids in both the organic and conventional

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passion fruit was 13.99 mg.100g-1and 25.10 mg.100g-1 respectively. The conventional passion fruit

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contained double the content of the carotenoids present in the organic fruits. -criptoxanthin was the

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main carotenoid found in both fruits.

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Keywords: phytochemicals, HPLC, yellow passion fruit

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1. Introduction
Fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C, vitamin E (tocopherols), and carotenoids (-

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carotene, -carotene, -cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene) are believed to provide a

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natural source of antioxidants (Kchaou, Abbs, Attia & Besbes, 2014; Romojaro, Sanchez-Bel,

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Serrano & Pretel, 2013; Pertuzatti et al., 2014). Antioxidant activity is associated with decreases in

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DNA damage, a reduction in lipid peroxidation, maintenance of the immune function, and prevention

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of the development of some diseases (Gropper, Smith & Groff, 2005). Nowadays, it is commonly

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accepted that diets that are high in fruits and vegetables protect against several human diseases, some

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of which are especially serious such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Given the fact that many

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existing studies indicate that protective effects may result from intake of the antioxidants that are

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present in fruit and vegetables, an increasing amount of attention is being placed on identifying

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potentially antioxidant substances, such as carotenoids and vitamin C (Pertuzatti et al., 2014, Matheus-

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Roth, 1991; Rock, Fada, Jacob & Bowen, 1996; Halliwell, 1997; Fraser & Bramley, 2004; Melndez-

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Martnez, Vicrio & Heredia, 2004). The prevention of diseases that is provided by carotenoids is

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directly associated with the antioxidant activity offered by these substances due to singlet oxygen

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scavenging and the way in which they reaction with free radicals (Sentanin & Rodriguez-Amaya,

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2007; Fiedor & Burda, 2014).

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Carotenoids are natural pigments that are found throughout the flowering plant kingdom as a

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pigment. They are mostly responsible for the yellow, orange and red color of fruits, and some of them

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are important vitamin A precursors (Silva et al. 2014). In one study, thirteen carotenoids were

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identified and separated in passion fruit using HPLC, with -carotene identified as the predominant

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compound. These compounds give visual appeal to juices and are important for their provitamin A and

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antioxidant activity (Mercadante, Britton & Rodriguez-Amaya, 1998; Talcott, Percival, Pittet-Moore &

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Celoria, 1998). The -carotene content in passion fruit pulp is 1362 g.100g-1and the total carotenoid

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content ranges between 27600 and 35400 g.100g-1 (Silva et al., 2014; Cavalcante, Dias, Nascimento

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& Freire, 2011). However, carotenoids and vitamin accumulation in passion fruit is variable and

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depends, among many factors, on the maturity stage of the fruit and the cultivation systems used to

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grow it (Rotili et al., 2013).

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Vitamin C, or merely ascorbic acid (AA), is a hydrosoluble and thermolabil vitamin. AA is widely

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distributed in products of vegetable origin and is mainly found in citric fruits and green leaves (Zhang

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& Hamauzu, 2004). The Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) standard methodology

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for determination of Vitamin C employs a titration method; however, ascorbic acid can also be

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determined by spectrophotometric, enzymatic and chromatographic methods (Spnola, Mendes,

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Cmara & Castilho, 2013). Liquid chromatographic methods have the potential for the simultaneous

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determination of other metabolites, as dehydroascorbic acid. Either reduced or oxidized

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(dehydroascorbic acid) forms of AA are equally active; though the oxidized form is reduced in natural

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sources. The transformation of AA into dehydroascorbic generally is reversible, allowing either

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substance to be transformed into another. This capacity of transformation works as an oxy-reduction

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system, carrying hydrogen in the respiration process at the cellular level (Welch, 1995). Natural

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ascorbic acid levels have been reported at 40-65 mg/100 g for fresh passion fruit (Talcott, Percival,

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Pittet-Moore & Celoria, 1998; Spnola, Mendes, Cmara & Castilho, 2013).

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Vitamin E consists of four tocopherols: , , and , and the corresponding tocotrienols: -, ,

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and , which contain unsaturated side chains. The -tocopherol is the most biologically active form.

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Most plant-derived foods, especially fruits and vegetables, contain low-to-moderate levels of vitamin E

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activity; however, due to the abundance of plant-derived foods in our diets, they provide a significant

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and consistent source of vitamin E (Eintemiller & Lee, 2004). Although some studies have reported

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the presence of tocopherol in oil extracted from the seeds of passion fruit (499.3 mg total

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tocopherol.kg-1)(Malacrida, 2012), no study has been carried out on the tocopherol content of passion

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fruit pulp.

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Around 120 species of Passiflora are native to Brazil, sixty of which produce fruits that could be

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direct or indirectly used as food sources. Yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Flavicarpa) is the most

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cultivated fruit in Brazil, and it is predominantly utilized in juice processing (Meletti, 2011). In 2012,

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passion fruit production in Brazil was higher than guava and melon production, and production of this

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fruit is increasing due to the technological progress that is being witnessed in all regions of Brazil. This

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makes Brazil an important world exporter of passion fruit juice (Meletti et al., 2010; IBGE, 2012). A

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number of studies have attempted to characterize passion fruit composition; however, none of them

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have used HPLC analyses (carotenoids, tocopherols and vitamin C) to evaluate the quality traits of

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organic and conventional passion fruit.

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The present demand for health foods that are produced without environmental damage and with

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respect to biological diversity for not using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, is a tendency that favors

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the creation of new opportunities, especially those for small producers (Fischer et al., 2007).

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The present study aimed to compare the content of tocopherols (, and ), ascorbic acid (L-

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ascorbic and L-dehydroascorbic) and carotenoids (-carotene, -cryptoxanthin, lutein, lycopene and

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zeaxanthin) in yellow passion fruit grown under two different cultivation systems.

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2. Materials and Methods

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2.1. Materials

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The passion fruits (Passiflora edulis Sims f. flavicarpa, Degener) of the organic and

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conventional system were obtained from the same private producer in the city of Florianpolis

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(SC/Brazil). The ripened fruits (surface totally yellow, pH 2.8 and 11-13Brix) were collected from a

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2008 harvest transported at 10oC in thermos boxes refrigerated with ice blocks, and stored in an ultra-

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freezer at -80C. The analyses were carried out after three days of storage in the chromatography

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laboratory/DCTA-UFPEL in Pelotas (RS/Brazil). Five batches of passion fruits from each cultivation

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system were evaluated. Each one was composed of 20 units. The samples were immediately evaluated

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in triplicate following preparation. The seeds were separated, and the pulp was homogenized in a

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mixer using approximately 200g of fruit. The standards of - and -tocopherols were obtained from

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Sigma Aldrich (Steinheim, Germany) with 96 and 90% of purity, respectively; - tocopherol was from

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Sigma Aldrich (Steinheim, Germany) with 99% of purity; the L-(+)-ascorbic acid was from Synth

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(Diadema, Brazil) (99% purity); and the L-(+)-dehydroascorbic acid from Fluka (Saint Louis, USA)

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with purity higher than 80%. The standards of the carotenoids -cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, and

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zeaxanthin were obtained from Chromadex (Irvine, USA); and -carotene was from Fluka (Saint

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Louis, USA) at 97% of purity. All standards were dissolved in a mobile phase used in each method,

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and a calibration curve was prepared.

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2.2. Tocopherols and carotenoids analyses

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The extraction of tocopherols was performed in accordance with the methodology described by

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Burns et al. (2003), with a number of minor modifications. The fruit extracts were obtained using cold

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acetone and mixed with petroleum ether. The ethereal phase was separated and centrifuged at 9000

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rpm for 10 minutes (microcentrifugue NT800 Nova Tcnica - So Paulo, Brazil) and then transferred

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to a 1.5 mL vial for tocopherols analysis.

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The identification and quantification of tocopherols was performed using a high-performance

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liquid chromatography system (SHIMADZU - Kyoto, Japan), which consisted of a LC-10ATVP solvent

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delivery pump, FCV-10ALVPc degasser, DGU-14A reodyne pump, SCL-10AVP, CTO-10ASVP, column

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oven and an autosampler SIL-10AF. The chromatographic separation was performed in an analytical

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reversed-phase column Shim-Pak CLC-ODS (4.6 mm x 150 mm x 4 m) with octadecil groups as the

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stationary phase. A fluorescence detector RF 10AXL was used at an excitation wavelength of 290 nm

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and emission wavelength of 330 nm. 10 L of the sample was injected using an initial mobile phase

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acetonitrile/methanol/isopropanol (50:40:10, v/v/v) for 10 minutes. The mobile phase was linearly

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altered to acetonitrile/methanol/isopropanol (30:65:5, v/v/v) until 12 minutes passed; and then linearly

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returned to the initial mobile phase until 15 minutes of analyze. A constant flow of 1 mL.min-1 (Barcia,

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Jacques, Pertuzatti & Zambiazi, 2010) was used.

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The peaks were identified by comparing the standards of tocopherols, and the quantification was

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performed according to the external standard calibration curve (- tocopherol, - tocopherol and -

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tocopherol). The results were expressed in g tocopherol.g-1of fruit.

For the purposes of the carotenoids analysis the same extract used for tocopherols was used and

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a 25 mL-aliquot of the extract was saponified with 25 mL of KOH 1.5 N solution in ethanol, following

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the procedure of Pertuzatti et al., 2012. The mixture was left for 18 h in the dark, after which it was

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transferred to a separatory funnel with 40 mL of water and 40 mL of petroleum ether. The lower phase

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was transferred to another separatory funnel (aqueous phase) and washed with 20 mL of petroleum

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ether. The upper phase was washed with 20 mL of water. The lower phase of both separatory funnels

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was discarded and the upper phases were put together, before being concentrated in a rotary evaporator

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at 35C and finally re-dissolved in 5 mL of methanol:acetonitrile, 30:70 v/v. The extract was

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centrifuged at 9000 rpm for 10 minutes (microcentrifugue NT800 Nova Tcnica - So Paulo, Brazil)

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and then transferred to a 1.5 mL vial for the analysis of carotenoids. A 25L aliquot of the resulting

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sample was injected into the system of high-performance liquid chromatography that consisted of the

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modules previously described, coupled to spectrophotometric detector UV/V SPD-10AVVP with

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wavelength at 450nm. Where was used as initial mobile phase methanol/acetonitrile, 30/70 (v/v),

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which was altered to methanol/ acetonitrile/ ethyl acetate (10:80:10, v/v/v) for 10 minutes and then

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kept constant for a further 35 minutes. Following this, it was turned to methanol/acetonitrile/ethyl

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acetate (5:80:15, v/v/v) and maintained in this state for 40 minutes before it was finally returned to the

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initial mobile phase for 45 minutes so that it could be analyzed. A constant flow of 1mL.min-1 was

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used. The data was acquired and processed using the Class-VP software.

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The peaks were identified by comparing the retention times of the standards, and the

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quantification was evaluated according to the external standard calibration curve of -cryptoxanthin,

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lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin and -carotene. The results were expressed in g.100g-1of fruit.

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2.3. Ascorbic Acid analysis

The ascorbic acid was analyzed according to the methodology described by Vinci et al. (1995),

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with few modifications, as described by Jacques et al. (2010). Ten grams of ground sample was

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weighed, and 30 mL of metaphosphoric acid (4.5% in ultrapure water) solution was added, before the

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solution was left to rest for an hour in an amber flask. The solution was then transferred to a 50 mL

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volumetric flask, and the volume was completed with ultrapure water. The sample was filtered through

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filter paper, and the supernatant was centrifuged at 7000 rpm for 10 minutes (microcentrifugue NT800

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Nova Tcnica - So Paulo, Brazil). After that, the sample was transferred to 1.5 mL vial.

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10 L of the sample, which consisted of the modules described previously, was injected into the

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system of high-performance liquid chromatography. A spectrophotometric detector UV/V SPD-

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10AVVP with wavelength at 254 nm was employed. Ultrapure water with 0.1% of acetic acid as a

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mobile phase was employed with a flow of 0.8 mL/min. The data were acquired and processed using

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the Class-VP software.

The peaks were identified by comparing the retention time of the standards of L-ascorbic and

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dehydroascorbic acid. The vitamin C quantification was evaluated according to the external standard

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calibration curve of L-(+)-ascorbic acid and the L-(+)-dehydroascorbic acid. The results were

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expressed in mg.g-1of fruit.

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2.4. Moisture

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The moisture determination was performed in triplicate in accordance with the AOAC method

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(AOAC, 2006).

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2.5. Statistical Analysis

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The data were submitted to analyze the variance and compare means using the Tukey test at 5%

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level of significance. The statistical analysis was performed using Version 7.0 of the Statistica program.

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3. Results and Discussion

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Post-harvest characterization aims to facilitate decision making for producers by providing

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them with the information they need to develop a strategy that minimizes the development of poor-

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quality fruit and helps them to control the production chain.

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The initial moisture content of passion fruits cultivated in the conventional and organic system

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was 79.65 mg.100g-1 and 80.15 mg.100g-1 respectively. The fruit from the conventional system

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exhibited several chromatographic peaks under the HPLC analysis that had not previously been

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identified. Five carotenoids standards were used in this study. In a previous study by Mercadante,

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Britton & Rodriguez-Amaya (1998), thirteen carotenoids were conclusively identified in yellow

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passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) using electron impact mass spectrometry, complemented by UV-

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visible spectrophotometry and co-chromatography. Of these thirteen carotenoids, seven were identified

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for the first time. Also, the study did not report the variety and original location of where the fruits

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were cultivated.
According to the results presented in Table 1, both the cultivation systems used to grow passion

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fruits displayed significant difference for all carotenoids analyzed. The highest amount of carotenoid

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identified in both organic and conventional cultivation was -criptoxanthin; however, the content of -

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criptoxanthin in the fruit from the conventional crop was almost twice that of the organic crop. Lutein

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and zeaxanthin were present in the lowest concentrations in the analyzed fruits. The total concentration

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of carotenoids present in the conventional crop was twice that of the carotenoid content found in the

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fruits from the organic crop. Several existing studies indicate that organic cultivation results in higher

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phytochemical content (Cavalcante, Dias, Nascimento & Freire, 2011). However Borguini et al. (2013)

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analyzed the lycopene content of organic and conventional tomatoes and did not find any significant

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difference between the organic and conventional systems. The carotenoid content in fruits depends on

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many variables, including the process of cultivation; however, some authors have observed that

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additional factors, such as exposure to light, temperature and degree of fruit ripeness, also have an

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impact on the production of carotenoids (Abushita et al., 2000; Borguini et al., 2013). Therefore, the

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highest carotenoid content in conventional passion fruit could be due to different light incidences or

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control over the fruit ripening.

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The content of -carotene (0.582 mg.100g-1) found in sweet passion fruit by Souza et al.(2008)

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was much higher than the concentration found in this study (0.056 0.077 mg.100g-1). These authors

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attribute this variation not just to the geographic effect, but also to the maturation stage of the fruits at

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the point of harvest, crop year, variety and storage conditions. The content of carotenoids in vegetables

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cannot be considered to be an absolute value, and it may be affected by several factors. As a result of

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the many functions or properties attributed to the production of carotenoids, there is a worldwide effort

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to obtain reliable analytical data that provides deeper insights into the development of these

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compounds. Since there is high number of natural carotenoids, conclusive identification is difficult.

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The information about the carotenoid composition of fruits that is presented in existing literature is

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frequently incomplete or conflicting (Mercadante, Britton & Rodriguez-Amaya, 1998).

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Three distinct peaks of the -, (+)- and -tocopherols, were identified by comparing the

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retention times between the sample and the corresponding standards. The second peak in the middle

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location corresponded to the sum of the - and -tocopherols, since these isomers were not resolved

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using RP-HPLC. The calibration curves exhibited excellent linearity (r2 > 0.997, n = 6 for all curves).

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Using -tocopherol as a reference, the response factors (relative fluorescence sensitivities) were 4.6

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and 3.5 for - and - tocopherol, respectively.

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Both systems used to cultivate passion fruit exhibited significant differences in terms of the

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contents of the tocopherols analyzed, as shown in Table 2. The contents of tocopherols in the fruits

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grown via organic cultivation were superior to those developed using conventional methods: 0.061

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mg of tocopherols per 100g-1 of fresh fruit and 0.052 mg of tocopherols per 100g-1 of fresh fruit,

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respectively. This could be due to the stressful conditions that are inherent in the organic cultivation

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system, which favor the synthesis of bioactive compounds from the secondary metabolism (Macoris

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et al., 2012). In both cultivation systems, the major component was - tocopherol, 0.045 mg of -

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tocopherol.100g-1 in the organic system and 0.042 mg of - tocopherol.100g-1 in the conventional

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system. The -tocopherol also was the main tocopherol found in passion fruit seed oil (Malacrida &

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Jorge, 2012). In terms of the content of - tocopherol, 0.016 mg -tocopherol.100 g-1 was present in

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the organic cultivar and 0.010 mg - tocopherol.100g-1 in the conventional cultivar. The presence of

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tocopherol was not confirmed in the passion fruits. Although the passion fruits only contained a

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small amount of tocopherols, the tocopherols present in the organic passion fruit were superior to

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those in the conventionally cultivated fruit. Data on the tocopherol content of fruits in existing

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literature is rare. In one research study that examined passion fruit pulp (Barcia, Jacques, Pertuzatti &

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Zambiazi, 2010) , a total of 0.043 mg.100g-1 tocopherol was identified and this content was lower

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than that present in the other fruits analyzed by the authors (blueberries, peaches, blackberries,

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pears).

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Figure 1 provides the typical chromatogram referent to the separation of ascorbic acid using

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HPLC. Peak 1 corresponds to L-dehydroascorbic acid with a retention time of 2.63 minutes, and Peak

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2 to L-ascorbic acid in 3.20 minutes. In terms of the total ascorbic acid content (Table 3), the fruit from

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the organic cultivation contained the highest concentration of ascorbic acid. Considering individually

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the two forms of ascorbic acid (L-ascorbic acid and L-dehydroascorbic acid) the fruit from the organic

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cultivation contained a higher concentration of L-ascorbic acid. As with the tocopherols, the total

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vitamin C content of the organic fruits was more expressive. It is widely accepted that vitamin C levels

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in fruits are subject to a wide variety of environmental factors (Genovese, Pinto, Gonalvez & Lajolo,

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2008). These variables include light, temperature, salts, and the presence of atmospheric pollutants,

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metals, and herbicides. This variable nature could explain the differences between the fruit produced

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via the two evaluated cultivation systems assessed in this work. Independently, the content of vitamin

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C found in this experiment was superior to the concentrations identified by Vinci et al.(1995) (64.00

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mg of ascorbic acid.100g-1). The present study evaluated two forms of ascorbic acid, L-ascorbic acid,

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and L-dehydroascorbic, and this could explain why the fruit contained higher levels of Vitamin C than

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that identified by Vinci et al. (1995). The content of L-ascorbic acid found in organic passion fruit was

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similar to the concentration found by Genovese et al. (2008) in commercial frozen passion fruit pulp

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(43.00 mg of ascorbic acid.100g-1).

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4. Conclusion

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The tocopherols (vitamin E) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) content was higher in the passion

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fruit that was organically cultivated. However, the carotenoids content was higher in the fruit that

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was conventionally cultivated. -criptoxanthin was the main carotenoid found in both fruits, of which

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+ tocopherols were in the highest volume. -tocopherol was not identified in the passion fruit

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analyzed.

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Acknowledgments

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The authors wish to thank the Coordenao de Aperfeioamento de Pessoal de Nvel Superior

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(CAPES), Fundao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS) and Conselho Nacional

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de Desenvolvimento Cientfico e Tecnolgico (CNPQ) for their financial support.

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References

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Abushita, A. A., Daood, H. G., & Biacs, P. A. (2000). Change in carotenoids and antioxidant vitamins

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in tomato as a function of varietal and technological factors. Journal of Agricultural and Food

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Chemistry, 48, 2075-2081.

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AOAC. (2006). Official methods of analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 18th

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ed. Gaithersburg, Maryland: AOAC, v.2, cap.32, met. 92607B, p.1.

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Barcia, M. T., Jacques, A. C., Pertuzatti, P. B. & Zambiazi, R. C. (2010). Determination by HPLC of

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ascorbic acid and tocopherols in fruits. Semina: Cincias Agrrias, 31(2), 381-390.

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Borguini, R. G., Bastos, D. H. M., Moita-Neto, J. M., Capasso, F. S., & Torres, E. A. F. S. (2013).

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Antioxidant potential of tomatoes cultivated in organic and convetional systems. Agriculture,

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agribusiness and biotechnology, 56(4), 521-529.

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Table 1. Content of carotenoids in conventional and organic passion fruit (mg.100 g-1),
limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) to carotenoids analysis.
Lutein +
Zeaxanthin

- Criptoxantin

Licopene

- Carotene

Total
carotenoids

Organic crop

0.001 a

13.94 b

0.002 b

0.056 b

13.99 b

Conventional
crop

0.001 b

24.99 a

0.028 a

LOD

6.50x10-4

0.07

LOQ

2.17x10-3

0.24

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Passion fruit

25.10 a

9.89x10-3

8.62x10-3

30.00x10-3

2.87x10-2

SC

0.077 a

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*Averages followed by different letters on column are significantly different at a confidence

level of 95% by Tukey test, for the samples containing carotenoids contents. Coefficient of
variation < 8.0%
Table 2. Content of tocopherols in conventional and organic passion fruit (mg.100 g-1).
-Tocopherol
0.016 a

Conventional crop

0.010 b

Tocopherol

Total
(+++)

0.045 a

nd

0.061 a

0.042 b

nd

0.052 b

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Organic crop

(+)-Tocopherol

* Averages followed by different letters on column are significantly different at a confidence

level of 95% by Tukey test, for the samples containing tocopherols contents.
nd not detected; Coefficient of variation < 6.0%

Passion fruit

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Table 3. Content of ascorbic acid in conventional and organic passion fruit (mg.100 g-1).

Conventional

L- ascorbic acid

Ascorbic acid total

41.00 a

L- dehydroascorbic
acid
2.3x102 a

18.00 b

1.8x102 b

1.9x102 b

2.3x102 a

*Averages followed by different letters on column are significantly different at a confidence

level of 95% by Tukey test, for the samples containing ascorbic acid contents; Coefficient of
variation < 9.0%

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Fig. 1. Vitamin C peaks of passion fruits from conventional (a) and organic (b) cultivation,
obtained by HPLC analysis using a reverse phase column (C18) and UV detector at 254nm. Peak
identification: (1) dehydro ascorbic acid; (2) L- ascorbic acid.

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Highlights
Organic cultivation displayed higher content of tocopherols than conventional cultivation.

Major tocopherol in passion fruit was -tocopherols.

The content of carotenoids in passion fruit from conventional cultivation doubled the
levels detected in fruits from organic cultivation.

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-criptoxanthin was the main carotenoid found in both fruits.

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) content was higher in fruits from organic cultivation.

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