Analyses of tomato peel and seed byproducts and their use as a source of carotenoids

Commercial tomato canning yields two different byproducts. One is the material that results from peeling tomatoes, while the other results from removing the seeds. The peel byproduct contained 100.8 g protein, 256.4 g ash and 299.4 g acid detergent fiber kg−1. Ash content was high because the peel byproduct contained 83.8 g kg−1 sodium as a result of using a sodium hydroxide solution to peel the tomatoes. The seed byproduct contained 202.3 g protein, 51.8 g ash, and 537.9 g acid detergent fiber kg−1. An amino acid analysis of seeds indicated that approximately 60% of the protein results from amino acids. Both byproducts were analyzed for carotenoid content. The lycopene content of peel byproduct was 734 µg g−1 of dry material. Significant amounts of lutein, β-carotene, and cis-β-carotene were also present. Seed byproduct contained 130 µg lycopene kg−1 of dry matter. The content of other carotenoids was approximately half of that present in the peels. Peel and seed byproducts were included at 75 g kg−1 in hen diets to determine the transfer of carotenoids to the yolk. When fed at this concentration, the lycopene content of dry egg yolk was approximately 0.9 µg g−1. Approximately 0.1% of the lycopene in peel byproduct and approximately 0.7% of the lycopene in the seed byproduct was transferred from the feed to the yolk. Lycopene appears more similar to carotene than to oxycarotenoids in its transfer to the yolk. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry