Abstract
Objective: To characterize the carotenoid content of selected components of the Mediterranean diet commonly eaten by Greek migrants to Melbourne, a population group maintaining a traditional dietary regimen, and who exhibit relatively high circulating carotenoid concentrations and low cardiovascular disease mortality.
Design and specimens: Opportunistic sampling of wild (sow thistle, amaranth, purslane and dandelion, collected from roadsides and home gardens) and commercially available (chicory, endive) green leafy vegetables and figs in season. Foods were selected on the basis that they are commonly eaten by Greek migrants but not by Anglo-Celtic persons, and had not previously been well-characterized with respect to their carotenoid contents. Extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil and ‘extra light’ olive oil were obtained from commercial sources. Specimens were extracted with tetrahydrofuran (or chloroform:methanol for olive oil) and carotenoid contents were quantified using HPLC with UV detection. Two to six specimens of greens and figs were analysed. Dietary intake was assessed by food frequency questionnaire.
Results: Wild green vegetables contained high concentrations of lutein (sow thistle>amaranth>purslane>dandelion) and β-carotene (sow thistle>amaranth>purslane=dandelion). Sow thistle and amaranth contained lutein (15 and 13 mg/100 g, respectively) and β-carotene (3.3 and 4.0 mg/100 g, respectively) at concentrations greater than that seen in the commercially available species of chicory and endive. Figs contained all major carotenoids appearing in plasma, albeit at low concentrations. Extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil contained substantial quantities of lutein and β-carotene, but the more-refined ‘extra light’ olive oil did not.
Conclusions: These components of the traditional Mediterranean diet contribute to the higher circulating concentrations of carotenoids in Greek migrants compared to Anglo-Celtic Australians.
Sponsorship: This study largely funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (grant no. 974098). Extra virgin olive oil donated by Picuba Foods, Marrickville, NSW, Australia.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics. 1998 Deaths, Australia 1997 p 21 Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics
García JM, Seller S, Pérez-Camino MCP . 1996 Influence of fruit ripening on olive oil quality J. Agric. Food Chem. 44: 3516–3520
Gey KF, Moser UK, Jordan P, Stähelin HB, Eichholzer M, Lüdin E . 1993 Increased risk of cardiovascular disease at suboptimal plasma concentrations of essential antioxidants: an epidemiological update with special attention to carotene and vitamin C Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 57: 787S–797S
Giles GG . 1990 The Melbourne Study of Diet and Cancer In: Proceedings of The Nutrition Society of Australia 14th Annual Scientific Meeting pp 94–103 Adelaide: Nutrition Society of Australia
Gutiérrez F, Jíminez B, Ruíz A, Albi MA . 1999 Effect of olive ripeness on the oxidative stability of virgin olive oil extracted from the varieties Picual and Hojiblanca and on the different compounds involved J. Agric. Food Chem. 47: 121–127
Ireland P, Jolley D, Giles G, O'Dea K, Powles J, Rutishauser I, Wahlqvist ML, Williams J . 1994 Development of the Melbourne FFQ: a food frequency questionnaire for use in an Australian prospective study involving an ethnically diverse cohort Asia Pacific J. Clin. Nutr. 3: 19–31
Keys A, Menotti A, Karvonen MJ, Aravanis C, Blackburn H, Buzina R, Djordjevic BS, Dontas AS, Fidanza F, Keys MH, Kromhout D, Nedeljkovic S, Punsar S, Seccareccia F, Toshima H . 1986 The diet and 15-year death rate in the Seven Countries Study Am. J. Epidemiol. 124: 903–915
Khachik F, Goli MB, Beecher GR, Holden J, Lusby WR, Tenorio MD, Barrera MR . 1992 Effect of food preparation on qualitative and quantitative distribution of major carotenoid constituents of tomatoes and several green vegetables J. Agric. Food Chem. 40: 390–398
Kohlmeier L, Kark JD, Gomez-Gracia E, Martin BC, Steck SE, Kardinaal AF, Ringstad J, Thamm M, Masaev V, Riemersma R, Martin-Moreno JM, Huttunen JK, Kok FJ . 1997 Lycopene and myocardial infarction risk in the Euramic Study Am. J. Epidemiol. 146: 618–626
Kouris-Blazos A, Wahlqvist ML, Trichopoulou A, Polychronopoulos E, Trichopoulos D . 1996 Health and nutritional status of elderly Greek migrants to Melbourne, Australia Age Ageing 25: 177–189
Kromhout D, Keys A, Aravanis C, Buzina R, Fidanza F, Giampaoli S, Jansen A, Menotti A, Nedeljkovic S, Pekkarinen M, Simic BS, Toshima H . 1989 Food consumption patterns in the 1960s in seven countries Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 49: 889–894
Martini MC, Campbell DR, Gross MD, Grandits GA, Potter JD, Slavin JL . 1995 Plasma carotenoids as biomarkers of vegetable intake: The University of Minnesota Cancer Prevention Research Unit feeding studies Cancer Epidemiol. Biomark. Prev. 4: 491–496
Nyambaka H, Ryley J . 1995 An isocratic reversed-phase HPLC separation of the stereoisomers of the provitamin A carotenoids (α- and β-carotene) in dark green vegetables Food Chem. 55: 63–72
Ranalli A, Ferrante ML, DeMattia G, Costantini N . 1999a Analytical evaluation of virgin olive oil of first and second extraction J. Agric. Food Chem. 47: 417–424
Ranalli M, Sgaramella A, Surricchio G . 1999b The new ‘Cytolase 0’ enzyme processing aid improves quality and yields of virgin olive oil Food Chem. 66: 443–454
Scott KJ, Thurnam DI, Hart DJ, Bingham SA, Day K . 1996 The correlation between the intake of lutein, lycopene and β-carotene from vegetables and fruits, and blood plasma concentrations in a group of women aged 50–65 years in the UK Br. J. Nutr. 75: 409–418
Shah VP, Midha KK, Dighe S, McGilveray IJ, Skelly JP, Yacobi A, Layloff T, Viswanathan CT, Cook CE, McDowall RD et al. 1991 Analytical methods validation: Bioavailability, bioequivalence and pharmacokinetic studies Eur. J. Drug Metab. Pharmacokinet. 16: 249–255
Simopoulos AP, Sidossis LS . 2000 What is so special about the traditional diet of Greece. The scientific evidence In: World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics ed. AP Simpoulos & F Visioli, pp 24–42 Basel: Karger
Su Q, Itsiopoulos C, Kaimakamis M, Cameron M, Fowler K, Rowley KG, O'Dea K . 1998 Lipid-soluble antioxidant status in Greek- and Australian-born men with non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM) In: Proceedings of the Nutrition Society of Australia Twenty-second Annual Scientific Meeting ed. EF Annison et al, p 189 Adelaide: The Nutrition Society of Australia (abstract)
Su Q, Rowley KG, O'Dea K . 1999 Stability of individual carotenoids, retinol and tocopherols in human plasma during exposure to light and after extraction J. Chromatogr. B Biomed. Applic 729: 191–198
US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 1998 USDA-NCC Carotenoid Database for U.S. Foods—1998 USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/car98/car98.html
van het Hof KH, Brouwer IA, West CE, Haddeman E, Steegers-Theunissen RP, van Dusseldorp M, Weststrate JA, Eskes TK, Hautvast JG . 1999 Bioavailability of lutein from vegetables is 5 times higher than that of β-carotene Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 70: 261–268
Visioli F . 2000 Antioxidants in Mediterranean diets In: World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics ed. AP Simopoulos & F Visioli, pp 43–55 Basel: Karger
Young C . 1992 Mortality, the ultimate indicator of survival: the differential experienced between birthplace groups In: Immigrants in Australia: a Health Profile ed. J Donovan et al, pp 192–213 Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service
Acknowledgements
This work was funded largely by a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (no. 974098). The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr Rachel Stoney and the assistance provided by Mary Kaimakamis and Melissa Cameron.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Su, Q., Rowley, K., Itsiopoulos, C. et al. Identification and quantitation of major carotenoids in selected components of the Mediterranean diet: green leafy vegetables, figs and olive oil. Eur J Clin Nutr 56, 1149–1154 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601472
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601472