Chromatographic methods for determination of carotenoids

Karotenoidi su prirodni pigmenti koji se najčešće nalaze u voću, povrću, cvijeću, pticama. To su poliizoprenske molekule koje se mogu podijeliti na dvije glavne skupine: a) karoteni, ugljikovodični karotenoidi; b) ksantofili, oksigenirani derivati ugljikovodika. Svojstva karotenoida su određena njihovom specifičnom kemijskom strukturom, što se posebno odnosi na njihovu konjugiranu dvostruku vezu. Danas im se pridaje posebna važnost radi njihovog dokazanog antioksidacijskog i antikancerogenog djelovanja. Najčešće se određuju kromatografskim tehnikama, od kojih je najzastupljenija HPLC metoda, koje obično zahtijevaju prethodnu obradu uzorka. Cilj ovog rada bio je, pregledom znanstvene literature, iznijeti najnovije spoznaje o kromatografskim metodama određivanja karotenoida.Carotenoids are natural pigments, that can be usually found in fruits, vegetables, flowers and birds. They are poliizoprenic molecules that can be devided into two main groups: a) carotens, hydrocarbon carotenoids; b) xanthophylls, oxygenated hydrocarbon derivatives. Properties of carotenoids are determined by their chemical structure which refers to their double conjugated bond. They are investigated today because of their anticancer and antioxidant activity. Carotenoids are most frequently determinated by chromatographic methods that usually require some sort of sample preparation. The most commonly used method for their determination is HPLC. The objective of this work, based on scientific literature, was to present the latest knowledge about the chromatographic methods for determination of carotenoids