Department of Food and Nutrition, National Institute of Health Dr Ricardo Jorge, IP, Lisbon, Portugal.
J Sci Food Agric. 2013 Nov;93(14):3545-57. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.6243. Epub 2013 Jul 4.
Carotenoids, vitamins (A, B2, C and E) and total folate are related to health promotion. However, there are still many food matrices for which the content of these compounds is not available. In order to fill this gap, traditional foods from Black Sea Area countries (BSAC) were analysed in order to investigate their potential health benefits.
The most abundant carotenoid was β-carotene. Plum jam was the sample with the highest β-carotene content (608 µg 100 g(-1) edible portion). The group of vegetables and vegetable-based foods contributed most to β-carotene content. Evergreen cherry laurel presented the highest l-ascorbic acid content (29.9 mg 100 g(-1) edible portion), while the highest riboflavin and total folate contents were found for roasted sunflower seeds. Approximately 61% of the analysed samples showed quantifiable amounts of α-tocopherol but did not contain retinol.
Despite the great variability in the content of carotenoids, vitamins and total folate, most of the analysed traditional foods from BSAC can be considered good sources of these compounds. Therefore, owing to their putative health benefits, the consumption of those with higher contents of these compounds should be encouraged and promoted.
类胡萝卜素、维生素（A、B2、C 和 E）和总叶酸与促进健康有关。然而，仍然有许多食物基质的这些化合物的含量是不可用的。为了填补这一空白，分析了来自黑海地区国家（BSAC）的传统食品，以调查其潜在的健康益处。
最丰富的类胡萝卜素是β-胡萝卜素。李子果酱是β-胡萝卜素含量最高的样品（608μg/100g 可食用部分）。蔬菜和以蔬菜为基础的食物组对β-胡萝卜素的含量贡献最大。常绿樱桃月桂叶的 l-抗坏血酸含量最高（29.9mg/100g 可食用部分），而烤葵花籽的核黄素和总叶酸含量最高。大约 61%的分析样品显示可量化的α-生育酚含量，但不含视黄醇。
尽管类胡萝卜素、维生素和总叶酸的含量差异很大，但 BSAC 的大多数传统食品都可以被认为是这些化合物的良好来源。因此，由于它们可能具有健康益处，应该鼓励和促进那些含有更高含量这些化合物的食品的消费。
