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Title: Spectrophotometric quantitation of watermelon lycopene extracted into aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate

Author
item Fish, Wayne
item Davis, Angela

Submitted to: Cucurbitaceae Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2006
Publication Date: 9/15/2006
Citation: Fish, W.W., Davis, A.R. 2006. Spectrophotometric quantitation of watermelon lycopene extracted into aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate. In: Cucurbitaceae 2006, September 17-21, 2006, Asheville, North Carolina. p. 1-8.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The absorbance properties of aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) extracts of watermelon tissue were examined as part of an ongoing effort to develop simpler, more economical ways to quantify carotenoids in melon fruit. Levels of SDS >0.2% extracted and solubilized watermelon lycopene-containing chromoplasts, and the absorbances at 565 nm of the extracts obeyed Beer's law. A method was developed for the detergent extraction/spectrophotometric determination of watermelon lycopene. Its application on 110 watermelons representing fourteen cultivars yielded results directly comparable to conventional lycopene methods (The regression coefficient for linear fit was ~0.98). The methodology, its advantages, and its limitations are presented.