Estimating rapidly and precisely the concentration of beta carotene in mango homogenates by measuring the amplitude of optothermal signals, values of chromaticity indices and the intensities of Raman peaks

Rapid, quantitative information about the micronutrients (including beta carotene) in mango fruit is often desired. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectrophotometry (SP), the two widely used methods in practice to quantify carotenoids, both require a time consuming and expensive extraction of a pigment prior to the analysis itself. This paper compares the performances of the three candidate methods for the assessment of beta carotene in twenty one different mango homogenates to that of the HPLC as an established standard technique. The extraction is imperative in neither of the methods: the laser based optothermal window (OW), the resonance Raman spectroscopy and the tristimulus colorimetry. For the quantitative analysis however the availability of the calibration curve is a necessity. All candidate methods and in particular OW technique (compact instrument, low cost and the ease of operation) hold promise for a rapid screening/quantitative assessment of beta carotene in mango fruit