Abstract:

This study aimed to determine the content of all E-lutein in the ray florets of oil sunflower cultured in Xinjiang
(Sample Ⅰ) and Inner Mongolia (Sample Ⅱ), China for assessing its potential exploitation as a novel source of lutein.
This effort may also form a solid base for increasing the industrial benefits of sunflower. In practice, the assessment was
performed from determination by ultraviolet and visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy while C18- and C30-high performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) were applied to measure the relative amount of all E-lutein. Data from this assessment suggested
that the amounts of all E-lutein in samples Ⅰ and Ⅱ were 1.5‰ and 0.8‰, respectively. The ray florets of oil sunflower, a
plentiful resource, can be considered as a potential source of lutein.

Key words: sunflower, ray floret, carotenoid, lutein, C18-HPLC, C30-HPLC