Abstract:
Pandanus conoideus is an endemic plant of Papua, Indonesia, reported to be very rich in carotenoids. The purpose of this study was to develop method for the determination of carotenoids (α-cryptoxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, α-carotene and β-carotene) in P. conoideus oil (PO) by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Since the proposed method in this research, carotenoids content of nine clones of PO were analyzed which ranged from 5.4-138.5 ng/mg for α-cryptoxanthin, 3.9-29.4 ng/mg for β-cryptoxanthin, 3.5-80.0 ng/mg for α-carotene, and 10.8-118.0 ng/mg for β-carotene. Our results showed that four carotenoids content was very small as compared to total carotenoids content (3027-19959 ng/mg). This suggests that those four carotenoids were not a major component of the PO carotenoids. Using the principal component analysis, nine clones of P. conoideus can be grouped based on the proximity of its carotenoid content into group A (Monsor, Mbarugum, Himbiak, Monsrus and Memeri), group B (Menjib Rumbai), and group C (Edewewits, Hibcau and Hityom).
