Voltammetric determination of β-carotene in raw vegetables and berries in Triton X100 media.

Electrochemical behavior of β-carotene in polar organic media and solubilized systems has been investigated. β-Carotene is irreversibly oxidized at 500 and 920 mV on glassy carbon electrode in 0.1 M LiClO(4) ethanol containing 10% of CH(2)Cl(2). Effect of surfactants (cationic, nonionic and anionic) on voltammetric characteristics of β-carotene oxidation has been evaluated. High concentrations of surfactants facilitate the electrooxidation of β-carotene independently of surfactant type. The increase of oxidation current by 7-11% has been obtained in the presence of nonionic surfactant. The best results have been observed in 10 mM Triton X100 media. The peak current showed a linear dependence with the β-carotene concentration over the range 10-380 μM. The calculated detection limit was 2.5 μM and the quantification limit was 8.3 μM. Liquid extraction of β-carotene with dichloromethane from raw vegetables and berries has been developed. Quantitative determination of β-carotene in real samples using cyclic voltammetry in Triton X100 media combined with preliminary extraction has been carried out. The results obtained are in good agreement with data of nutrient database for standard references.