Composition and provitamin a value of "macarrão" and "manteiga" green beans, marketed in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

In order to determine the provitamin A value and composition of "manteiga" and "macarrão" green beans, samples of raw and cooked green beans were analyzed. The techniques used for carotenoid analysis included open column chromatography and spectrophotometry. Two carotenes were identified: alpha and beta-carotene, and there was no statistically significant loss due to 30 minutes cooking in boiling water. The provitamin A values were 19 Retinol Equivalents (RE)/100g for raw "manteiga" green beans and 13 for raw "macarrão" green beans. For cooked samples the values obtained were 20 RE/IOOg for "manteiga" green beans and 16 for "macarrão" green beans. It was also analyzed the centesimal composition for raw and cooked samples consisting in: water content, ash, lipids, protein, fiber and total carbohydrate.