Monday , April 05, 2004

Momordica cochinchinensis SPRENG. (Gac) fruit contains high -carotene and lycopene levels

Le Thuy Vuong, Adrian A. Franke*, Laurie J. Custer, Suzanne P. Murphy

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Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii, 1236 Lauhala Street, Honolulu, HI 96813 *Corresponding Author:

Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii 1236 Lauhala street, Suite 504c Honolulu, HI 96813

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[email protected]

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Adrian Franke, PhD

ABSTRACT Momordica cochinchinensis SPRENG., Cucurbitacea, is indigenous to Southeast Asia and consumed there for dietary as well as medicinal uses. However, it is almost unknown to Western cultures. In Vietnam, this plant is called “Gac”, and the seed membrane (seed pulp or aril) of the ripe

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fruit is widely used as a rice colorant due to its intense red color from its high carotenoid content. Because of conflicting reports on the carotenoid concentrations in Gac, we analyzed samples of seed

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membrane and mesocarp obtained from Vietnam by HPLC/PDA for carotenoids and tocopherols. On average in three fruits, total carotenoid concentrations (±standard deviation) were 488 (±137) >g/g per g fresh material with lycopene dominating and exceeding beta-carotene concentrations by a factor of approximately 5 (401 µg/g versus 72 µg/g). This is in agreement with more recent but lower than other literature values. A sample of pulp mixed with mesocarp had significantly lower concentrations of total carotenoids. Alpha-tocopherol concentrations in pulp were 69 µg/g. In light of its nutritional value, in

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Monday , April 05, 2004 particular regarding the remarkably high concentration of lycopene, more work is needed to increase the production and utilization of Gac in Vietnam, and other regions of the world.

KEYWORDS: beta-carotene, lycopene, alpha-tocopherol, fruit, Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng, Gac

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BRIEF TITLE: Nutrient composition of Momordica cochinchinensis SPRENG. (Gac)

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INTRODUCTION:

Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng, belongs to the melon family (Cucurbitaceae) and is indigenous to Southeast Asia. The species name “cochinchinensis” derives from the Cochinchina region in the northern part of Vietnam. The Vietnamese name for the fruit is “Day Gac” (Gac vine) or “Moc Niet Tu” (wooden tortoise). The plant can be cultivated either from seeds or from root tubers. The first

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written record in the early 1900s noted the presence of this plant in Southeastern Asia (1). Trisonthi recorded the cultivation of Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng. in India, and from Japan to New Guinea (2). It is also believed to have been cultivated in southern China (3). Contemporary work indicates that Gac is still planted in many Asian countries today. Iwamoto et al. reported recently about the medicinal

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composition and the cultivation of the gac root, from China to the Moluccas Burma (4). The Gac plant is also grown as an annual herb throughout Bangladesh (5), and its fruit is reportedly a popular vegetable

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in Assam, in West Bengal, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in the Southern states of India (6). Gac plants prefer a high temperature, humid climate, ample rainfall and well drained soil. They are dioecious (separate male and female plant) and bear pale-yellow flowers, solitary in the axils of the leaves. On average, it takes about 18-20 days for a fruit to mature from emergence of the bud of the female flower. A plant produces 30 to 60 fruits on average in one season. Fruits are densely aculaeate and initially green, turning to dark orange or red when ripe. The ripe fruits are on average 20cm in diameter (picture 1) and are usually harvested from August to February. Other details of optimal soil 2 Elsevier

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Monday , April 05, 2004 preparation, fertilization and cultivation are provided by Nagao et al. and others (7-9). Unlike that of the bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), the exocarp (rind) of the Momordica cochinchinensis fruit is hard and is covered with conical points one-eighth-inch high. There are also variations among different fruits with respect to their spine and fruit tips. In some fruits, the spines are smooth and dense, whereas in some, they are hard and widely spaced. The meat (mesocarp) of the green fruit is used in some regions

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in vegetable dishes. As the fruit ripens, the mesocarp becomes thicker, spongy and yellow-orange. The cavity is divided into cartilaginous chambers containing bright red fleshy seed pods (picture 1). Each fruit has on average between 15 and 20 round, compressed and sculptured seeds. The average weight of

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the pulp (aril) is about 19% of the total fruit weight. A Gac fruit usually weights about 1 kg and yields approximately 190 g of pulp and 130 g of seeds. Information on the annual production of Gac fruit worldwide is not available. In Vietnam, it is estimated that 80 tons of whole fruit are harvested per year. The seeds of the ripe fruit are also used by several cultures for medical purposes, for example in a poultice applied in skin wounds (10). A tonic made from Gac seed membrane was reportedly given to

growth (11-13).

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children and lactating or pregnant women to treat dry eyes, skin infection, and burns, and to improve

Only the seed pulp (aril) of the ripe fruit is used in Vietnam as a rice colorant. The mesocarp of the ripe

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fruit, characterized by its yellow color, is discarded. The Vietnamese use the red seed pulp of the ripe fruit in the preparation of “xoi gac” (red rice). Carotenes and fatty acids in Gac pulp give the rice a lustrous bright red color and a nice oil rich taste, respectively. “Xoi gac” is traditionally used in

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weddings, at the New Year (Tet), and for other important celebrations (10). The name “xoi gac” is a trademark of red-colored rice; thus, when the gac fruit is not in season, the rice is colored by other food colorants, but is still called “xoi gac”, which local people occasionally eat for breakfast.

A 30-day supplementation trial in Vietnam found that daily consumption of “xoi gac” significantly improved plasma levels of retinol, alpha- and beta-carotenes, and lycopene in pre-school children (14). The bioavailability of carotenes and lycopenes in “xoi gac” was assessed by an in-vitro digestion 3 Elsevier

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Monday , April 05, 2004 technique, simulating the gastric and small intestinal phases of digestion, and by incubation of cultures of Caco-2 human intestinal cells with diluted aqueous (micellar) fraction of digesta. Results suggested that gac seed membrane and oil are an excellent source of bioaccessible carotenes and lycopene (15). In areas where the fruits are grown habitually, the availability of oil from gac seed membrane resulted in increased consumption of beta-carotene, lycopene and essential fatty acids, and lower consumption of

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lard (16). This study indicated multiple benefits from gac consumption. Lycopene levels in Gac are

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higher than those in any of the plant sources reported by West and Poortvliet (25), as shown in figure 1.

Gac fruit has many potential health benefits, particularly for people in regions where the cultivation and usage of this fruit can make significant contributions to disease prevention, particularly by reducing vitamin A deficiency. To determine the nutrient composition of ripe Gac pulp, we quantified the

detection (HPLC/PDA).

METHODS

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Sample selection

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principal bioactive components using high pressure liquid chromatography with photodiode array

Three ripe Gac fruits were randomly selected from home grown plants in northern Vietnam. The seed pulp was removed from the cavity of the fruit and stored in sealed vials. Samples were stored separately

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for each fruit. All samples were hand carried on ice to California and shipped on dry ice to the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, Honolulu, where they were stored at –20O C until analyzed. At the time of analysis, two random samples were selected from each fruit, and duplicate assays were performed for each sample. Standard deviations were calculated for the duplicate assays (inter-assay variation), for the duplicate samples from each fruit (within-fruit variation, after taking the mean of the two assays), and for the three fruits (between-fruit variation, after taking the mean of the two samples). 4 Elsevier

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Monday , April 05, 2004 Analysis of lipid-phase micronutrients from gac fruit In a modification of previous protocols (17,18), 0.02 mL tocol (0.004 mg/mL methanol) obtained from Hoffmann LaRoche (Basel, Switzerland) and 0.040 mL beta-apo-12'-carotenal-tert.-O-butyl-oxime prepared in our laboratory (18) (0.004 mg/mL hexane) were added as internal standards to 0.05-0.075 g gram freeze-dried food materials, and then extracted at least three times with tetrahydrofurane (THF).

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Half of the combined THF extract was hydrolyzed with an equal volume of 10% KOH in 75% aeq. MeOH for 2.5 hours, followed by addition of an equal amount of NaCl solution (13g/L) and repeated extraction with hexane (at least three times). The combined hexane phases were evaporated to dryness

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under a stream of nitrogen and redissolved in 0.1 mL THF followed by addition of 0.1 mL of the HPLC solvent (methanol /dichloromethane / acetonitrile = 65:25:10 containing 0.025% butylated hydroxytoluene as antioxidant and 2 mL/L 0.5M bis-tris-propane (pH 7.0) as buffer). The other half of the THF extract (unhydrolyzed) was reduced in volume to 5 mL under reduced pressure and diluted at a ratio of 1:10 with the HPLC solvent. Twenty >L of the extracts were injected into the HPLC system

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(19) consisting of an Adsorbosphere C18 (10 x 4.6 mm i.d.; 5 mm) direct-connect guard column (Alltech, Deerfield, IL) coupled to a Spherex 5 C18 (250 x 4.6 mm i.d.; 5 mm) reversed-phase column (Phenomenex, Torrance, CA). The flow rate was 1.5 mL per minute, and monitoring was performed by diode array detection in the range of 300-500 nm. Final values were obtained from peak areas using

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calibration curves of solutions of authentic standards and by adjustment to internal standard recovery. Inter-assay coefficients of variation for lycopene, beta-carotene, and alpha-tocopherol in Gac fruit were

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8%, 6%, and 14%, respectively. RESULTS

Gac seed membrane concentrations of the main carotenoids and alpha-tocopherol in the three fruits analyzed are presented in table 1. The principal carotenoids were lycopene and beta-carotene. The concentration of lycopene was as high as 576 µg/g as consumed, with an average of 401 µg/g. Alphatocopherol was the main tocopherol, with a mean concentration of 69 µg/g. Values were remarkably consistent across the two samples from each fruit, with only the alpha-carotene samples from fruit #3 5 Elsevier

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Monday , April 05, 2004 having substantial variation. Alpha-tocopherol and alpha-carotene levels showed little variation across the three fruits. However, values for beta-carotene and lycopene varied significantly among the three fruits.

The meat (mesocarp) contains significantly lower levels of carotenoids than the seed membrane (22, 23)

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as would be expected from its yellow color. Our analysis of a pulp - mesocarp mixture of one ripe fruit (2 extractions, hydrolyzed and non hydrolized), found that the concentration of total carotenoids was 283 µg/g, and that the total tocopherol concentration was 31 µg/g (wet weight). Both values were about

relative to non hydrolyzed samples.

DISCUSSION

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half those found for the pulp only (Table 1). Saponification led to very similar final concentrations

This study extends previously published analyses of nutrients in Gac fruit by including the determination

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of tocopherol concentrations. Vuong et al. previously reported that the oil extract from the membrane contained 357 µg/ml alpha-tocopherol (16). The fatty acids content (of seed membrane) was calculated to be 79-101 mg/g (16,20,21) implying an alpha-tocopherol concentration of about 36 >g/g if all the

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tocopherol activity is in the oil. By comparison, results of the alpha-tocopherol analyses in this study (69 µg/g) are relatively high. However, significant variability would be expected for both analyses, due to low sensitivity when using PDA monitoring. Nonetheless, with almost 7 mg of alpha-tocopherol per 100

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g, Gac fruit could contribute significantly toward the recommended intake of vitamin E (15 mg/d) of alpha-tocopherol for adults (IOM, 2000). A compilation of published carotenoid concentrations in Gac pulp is provided in table 2. West & Poortvliet reported levels up to 892 µg/g using HPLC but handling, transport, storage and the extraction method were not described (25). A -carotene concentration of 458 µg/g in seed pulp was reported by Vietnamese scientists although methods of extraction and analysis were not available (20). 6 Elsevier

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Monday , April 05, 2004 Concentrations of -carotene in gac fruit pulp used in a 30-day supplementation trial were much lower than these two earlier reports, with an average beta-carotene concentration of 175 µg/g (14). The present study used a well established extraction and HPLC method and found even lower -carotene levels, but overall our results were very similar to recent results reported by Aoki et al. (22), who used techniques

Ishida et al. (23) who also applied a HPLC/PDA based method.

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comparable to ours. Much higher concentrations (4-6 fold; table 2) were found in a recent report by

Lycopene concentrations in gac pulp as reported by this study (401 µg/g) are in agreement with the

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report by Aoki et al. (380 µg/g) (22) and are much higher than the lycopene concentration usually found in tomatoes (about 25 µg/g), the principal source of lycopene in Western diets (27). Ishida et al. (23) reported even higher values for gac pulp, with an average across two fruits of 1902 µg/g.

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The discrepancies in these reported carotenoid levels might be due to degradation of carotenoids during extraction, analysis, transport, and storage as most are sensitive to light and heat (24). In the present study, fruits were transported from the market, the seed membrane was removed and stored briefly at room temperature, and at 0OC for a short time before transportation on ice to the US. Upon arrival,

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samples were stored in –20O C until analysis. Under these suboptimal transportation and storage conditions, isomerization and degradation of carotenoids are possible and our results might be

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underestimates.

Another explanation for discrepancies in the reported carotenoid levels might be differences in the ripeness of the samples fruits because carotenoid levels can change dramatically during ripening. Rodriguez et. al. reported that the number of different carotenoids in Momordica charantia (bitter melon) increased from 5 in the immature fruit to 6 at the mature-green and 14 at partly-ripe to ripe stages (26). Whether ripening can explain a several fold difference in total carotenoid levels remains to be determined. Our results indicate a possible inverse correlation between beta-carotene and lycopene 7 Elsevier

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Monday , April 05, 2004 concentrations—fruit 2 had the highest beta-carotene levels and the lowest lycopene levels (table 1). This could also be due to the ripening stage, since lycopene appears earlier than -carotene in the carotenogenesis pathway, and it is therefore conceivable that less mature fruits contain higher lycopene and lower -carotene concentrations than more mature fruits.

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Carotene concentrations in the mesocarp mixed with seed membrane found in this study or in the mesocarp alone reported by Aoki et al. (22) and Ishida et al. (23) were modest, and significantly lower than in the seed membrane of the same ripe fruit. The alpha-tocopherol concentration was also

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significantly lower in mesocarp than in seed membrane. In contrast to other types of plants in the Momordica genus, such as Momordica charantia (bitter melon), ripe Momordica cochichinensis seed membrane is significantly more nutritious than the mesocarp, particularly for provitamin A carotenoids, lycopene and alpha-tocopherol.

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Similar final concentrations in our hydrolyzed and non-hydrolyzed extracts of ripe fruits indicated a very low degree of originally esterified carotenoids in gac. This finding agrees with the recent results

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reported by Aoki et al. (22).

Gac pulp contains almost 8% lipid (table 3). The good absorption and transport of carotenoids after gac pulp consumption are probably due to its soft texture and to these high levels of fatty acids (15,16,28).

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Even when Gac pulp is consumed alone, lycopene and beta-carotene are highly bioavailable, as demonstrated by a significant increase in the human circulation after a 30-day feeding trial. Bioaaccessibility studies using in-vitro digestion/caco cell techniques also showed a high bioavailability for these carotenoids (14,15). This is in sharp contrast to other carotenoid rich fruits, which show a relatively low carotenoid bioavailability due to the lack of uptake enhancing lipids (29,30).

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Monday , April 05, 2004 We conclude that Gac fruit is an extraordinarily high source of lycopene, and contains considerable amounts of beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol. Initial studies on the high bioavailability of carotenoids after consumption of Gac fruit are very promising, and further studies of its health effects should be undertaken. Gac fruit is widely accepted as a food in Vietnam, as well as in other Asian countries, and has substantial potential to improve the dietary quality of populations living in these countries.

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Irrespective of its provitamin A activity, Gac fruit consumption has also other advantages. For example, dietary and blood levels of lycopene and alpha-tocopherol have been associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer (31-33). Other beneficial phytochemicals might be present but have not been identified

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yet from this relatively little investigated plant. Results of this study suggest that efforts should be undertaken to enhance Gac fruit cultivation and availability worldwide because many different

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populations and cultures might benefit from its consumption.

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Monday , April 05, 2004 REFERENCES

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1. BAILEY, L.H. (1937). The Garden of Gourds; The Macmillian Company pp 121-22. New York.

2. TRISONTHI, C. (1992). Description et cle d’identification de quelques fruits tropicaux comestibles (Descriptions and keys for the identification of some edible tropical fruits). Fruits,

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47, 425-449.

3. CHIANG, S. (1977). Dictionary of Chinese Curde Drugs (New Medical College, E.), Scientific

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Technologic Publisher pp 370. Shanghai, China.

4. IWAMOTO, M., Okabe, H., Yamauchi, T. (1985). Studies on the constituents of Momordica

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Cochinchinensis Spreng. Chem Pharm Bull. 33,1-7.

5. HASAN, C.M.; Reza-ul-Jal Rabbar, A., Waterman, P. (1987). Chondrillasterol from the tubers

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of Momordica Cochinchinensis. Plant Med. 53(6),578-9.

6. SHADEQUE, A.; Baruah, G. (1984). Sweet gourd: a popular vegetable of Assam. Indian Farming. 34:25-35.

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Monday , April 05, 2004 7. NAGAO, Y., Fujioka, S., Tsukui, M., Matsuoka, T. (1977). Studies on breeding and cultivation of medicinal plants – The cultivation and the quality of Momordica Cochinchinensis Spreng. J Takeda Res Lab. 36,193-9.

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8. HERKLOTS, G.A.C. (1972). Vegetables in South-East Asia. George Allen & Unwin LTD, London.

Uses. The MIT Press, Cambridge.

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9. PERRY, L.M. (1980). Medicinal Plants of East and Southeast Asia, Attributed Properties and

10. 10. DO, T.L. (1991). Nhung Cay Thuoc va Vi Thuoc Vietnam [A Compilation of Medicinal

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Plants of Vietnam]. Nha Xuat Ban Khoa Hoc va Ky Thuat, Hanoi.

California.

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11. NGUYEN, D.V. (1998). Medicinal Plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mekong Printing,

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12. BUI, C.X., Do, B.H., Pham, M.K., Do, D.T., Nguyen, T.T., Pham, K.T. (1990). Cay Thuoc Vietnam (Medicinal Plants of Vietnam). Nha Xuat Ban Khoa Hoc va Ky Thuat, Hanoi.

13. VO,V.C. (1997). Tu Dien Cay Thuoc Vietnam [A dictionary of Medicinal Plants of Vietnam]. Nha Xuat Ban Y-Hoc, Ho-Chi-Minh City.

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Monday , April 05, 2004 14. VUONG, L.T., Dueker, S.R., Murphy, S.P. (2002). Plasma beta-carotene and retinol concentrations of children increase after a 30-d supplementation with the fruit Momordica cochinchinensis (gac). Am J Clin Nutr., May,75(5), 872-9.

15. VUONG, L., Chitchumroonchokchai C.; Chapman M.; Ishida B.; King J.; Failla M. (2003),

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High bioaccessibility of carotenes and lycopenes in gac oil and gac fruit aril. The FASEB Journal.

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16. VUONG, T.L., King, J.C. (2003). A method of preserving and testing the acceptability of gac fruit oil, a good source of -carotene and essential fatty acids. Food and Nutrition Bulletin., 24:2, 224-230.

17. KHACHIK, F.; Beecher, G.R.; Goli, M.B.; Lusby, W.R.(1992). Separation and Quantitation of

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Carotenoids in Foods. Methods in Enzymology., 213,347-359.

18. HANDELMAN G. (1992). High Resolution Analysis of Carotenoids in Human Plasma by High-

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Performance Lipid Chromatography, Methods in Enzymology, 213,336-346.

19. FRANKE, A.; Custer, L.; Cooney, R. (1993). Quantitation of Lipid-Phase Micronutrients in

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Plasma by HPLC with Synthetic Carotenoids as Internal Standards. J. Chromatogr., 614, 43-57.

20. VIEN Dinh Duong (1995). Thanh Phan Dinh Duong Thuc An Viet Nam [Food Products in Vietnam Composition and Nutritive Value]. Nha Xuat Ban Y Hoc, Hanoi.

21. VUONG L.T. (2000). Under-utilized beta-carotene-rich crops of Vietnam. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 2:2, 173-81. 12 Elsevier

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22. AOKI, H.; Kieu, N.T.; Kuze, N.; Tomisaka, K,; Chuyen V.N. (2002). Carotenoid pigments in GAC fruit (Momordica cochinchinensis SPRENG). Biosci Biotechnol Biochem., 66(11),247982.

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23. ISHIDA B.K., Turner, C., Chapman M.H., McKeon T. (2004). Fatty acid and carotenoid composition of Gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng) Fruit. J. Agric. Food Chem. 52,274-

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79.

24. BAUERNFIELD, J.C. (1971). Carotenoid vitamin A precursors and analogs in foods and feeds. J. Ag. Food Chem. 20, 456-73.

25. WEST, C.E., Poortvliet, E.J. (1993). The Carotenoid Content Of Foods With Special Reference

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To Developing Countries. USAID-VITAL, Washington DC.

26. RODRIGUEZ, D.B.; Raymundo, L.C.; Lee, T.C.; Simpson, K.L.; Chichester, C.O. (1976).

27.

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Carotenoid Pigment Changes in Ripening Momordica charantia Fruits. Ann. Bot,, 40, 615-624.

U.S.Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (2003). USDA Nutrition

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Database for Standard Reference, Release 16. Retrieved June 13, 2003 from the Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page on the World Wide Web:http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp.

28. RIBAYA-MERCADO, J.D. (2002). Influence of dietary fat on beta-carotene absorption and bioconversion into vitamin A. Nutr Rev. 60, 104-110.

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Monday , April 05, 2004 29. VAN HET HOF, K.H., West, C.E., Weststrate, J.A., Hautvast, J.G. (2000). Dietary factors that affect the bioavailability of carotenoids. J Nutr , 130, 503-506.

30. WILLIAMS, A.W., Boileau, T.W., Erdman, J.W. Jr (1998). Factors influencing the uptake and

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absorption of carotenoids. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med, 218, 106-108.

31. GANN, P.H., Ma, J., Giovannucci, E., Willett, W., Sacks, F.M., Hennekens, C.H., et al. (1999). Lower prostate cancer risk in men with elevated plasma lycopene levels: results of a prospective

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analysis; Cancer Research, 59,1225-1230.

32. HUANG, H.Y., Alberg, A.J., Norkus, E.P., Hoffman, S.C., Comstock, G.W., Helzlsouer, K.J. (2003). Prospective study of antioxidant micronutrients in the blood and the risk of developing

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prostate cancer. Am J Epidemiol, 157,335-344.

33. VIRTAMO, J.; Pietinen, P.; Huttunen, J.K.; Korhonen, P., Malila, N., Virtanen, M.J., et al. (2003). Incidence of cancer and mortality following alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene

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supplementation: a postintervention follow-up; JAMA, 290,476-485.

34. INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE. (2000). Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E,

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Selenium, and Carotenoids. National Academy Press, Washington DC.

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Table 1. Carotenoid and tocopherol concentrations of Gac seed membrane or pulp (µg/g of wet weight)

-carotene

-carotene

lycopene

total carotenoids1

1

2.80 ± 0.162

48.5 ± 5.54

377 ± 29

437 ± 36

2

2.34 ± 0.45

114.1 ± 1.68

249 ± 13

384 ± 18

65.9 ± 17.8

3

3.06 ± 1.30

51.9 ± 5.39

576 ± 81

643 ± 84

72.2 ± 5.3

Mean

2.73 ± 0.363

71.5 ± 36.9

401 ± 165

488 ± 137

69.5 ± 3.2

1

Minor contributions by xanthophylls

-tocopherol

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70.3 ± 5.0

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Fruits

mean concentration of 2 random samples from the same fruit ± standard deviation;

3

mean concentration of 3 fruits ± standard deviation

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2

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Table 2. Comparison of reported concentrations of carotenes in Gac seed membrane (ug/g of edible

References

-carotene

lycopene

total carotenoids

188.1

-

891.5

(20)

457.8

-

-

(14)

175.0

-

-

(22)

101.0

380.0

481.0

(23)

641 (trans)

71.5

HPLC

not available HPLC/PDA

HPLC/PDA

2926

HPLC/PDA

487.9

HPLC/PDA

170 (cis) 400.9

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this study

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128 (cis)

1903 (trans)

methods

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(25)

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portion)

HPLC = high pressure liquid chromatography OCC = open column chromatography PDA= photo diode array detection

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TABLE Table 3. Nutrient composition of Gac seed membrane

100g of edible portion

Energy (Kcal)

125

water (%)

77

CHO (g)

10.5

lipid (g)

7.9

protein (g)

2.1

cellulose (g)

1.8

ash (g)

0.7

Ca (mg)

56

P (mg)

6.4

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-carotene (µg)

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Nutrients

Modified from (20)

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50000 40000 30000 20000 10000

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gr ap ef ru

it pa pa ya w at er m el on gu av a (p to ul m p) at o (U pi SA ta ng ) a (b ra zi l) ro se hi p

0

ga c

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microgram/100g

60000

Figure 1. lycopene concentrations in fruits and vegetables

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(from reference 24)

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2: seed membrane, aril, pulp

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Picture 1. Ripe gac fruit (scale = 1:5)

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1: mesocarp, fruit meat

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