Provitamin A carotenoid content of different cultivars of edible
pandanus fruit
Lois Englbergera,*, William Aalbersbergb
, Maureen H. Fitzgeraldc
,
Geoffrey C. Marksa
, Kishore Chandb
aNutrition Program, Division of International Health, School of Population Health, University of Queensland,
Brisbane, Australia bInstitute of Applied Science, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji c
School of Occupation and Leisure Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Received 6 March 2002; received in revised form 11 September 2002; accepted 18 October 2002
Abstract
As part of an overall study to identify vitamin A-rich foods, a study was carried out in the Federated
States of Micronesia (FSM) to provide information on production, acquisition, consumption and cultural
acceptability of edible pandanus cultivars, Pandanus tectorius, and to identify their carotenoid content.
Samples of five pandanus cultivars were collected and analyzed for a- and b-carotene by HPLC. The results
showed that the two cultivars with yellow fruit coloration contained low levels of carotenoids, while the
orange fruits, which were also well liked as a food in the community, contained higher levels at maxima of
190mg/100 g and 393mg/100 g for a- and b-carotene, respectively. Common patterns of intake when the fruit
is available show that pandanus can provide a large proportion of estimated requirements of retinol
equivalents. Local people were generally unaware that pandanus had health benefits, although the food was
very popular. Nevertheless, key informants report that production had greatly decreased in recent years. To
reverse this trend, those acceptable cultivars high in carotenoid content should be promoted both for their
general enjoyment and their health benefits.
r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Pandanus; Cultivars; Vitamin A deficiency; Micronesia; Pacific; a-carotene; b-carotene; HPLC
1. Introduction
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) has been identified as a problem of public health significance
among preschool children in the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) (Fig. 1),
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