J Sci Food Agric 1997, 73, 301306

Relationship between Hunter Color Values and

b-Carotene Contents in White-Fleshed African
Sweetpotatoes (Ipomoea batatas Lam)
Michael A Amenya* and Paul W Wilsonb
a Department of Food Science,
b Department of Horticulture, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Agricultural Center, LA 70803,
USA
(Received 13 April 1995 ; revised version received 24 October 1995 ; accepted 29 August 1995)

Abstract : White-eshed sweetpotatoes (Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam) are a major

food crop in Uganda. This study was done to evaluate carotenoid content in
sweetpotatoes and to relate the color of the sweetpotatoes to the b-carotene
present. A Hunter Color Tristimulus Meter was used to determine the color and
the b-carotene was determined by reverse-phase HPLC. Regression analysis was
carried out on the color values L, a, b, b/a and tan~1 b/a to determine which
color value could be used to express the content of b-carotene in white-eshed
sweetpotatoes. The b color value appeared to be the best estimation for corre-
lation at 074 in this study for raw roots and 009 for puree. The a value was
039 for raw roots and 016 for puree, L was [074 for raw roots and [045 for
puree.

Key words : Hunter meter, carotenoids, b-carotene, sweetpotato, Uganda.

INTRODUCTION developing countries (Woolfe 1992). Color intensity of

Pre-formed vitamin A found in meat, liver and eggs is
frequently too expensive for the economically deprived
in developing countries (Ong and Tee 1992). Fortu-
nately, many of these countries have abundant vegeta-
tion rich in carotenoids. There should therefore be no
vitamin A deciency problems ; however, this is not
true. Low intake of carotenoids, and diets lacking in fat
and protein, make absorption of the precursors of
vitamin A very poor (Ong and Tee 1992). Roots and
tubers are generally low in carotenoids. They are,
however, consumed widely in many developing coun-
tries and, therefore, their use as a source of carotenoids
merits further studies (Ong and Tee 1992).
The sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) is a major food
crop in developing and developed countries (Woolfe
1992). Little dietary information is known about the
white-eshed varieties grown more commonly in
* To whom correspondence should be addressed at : Tech-
nology, Makerere University, PO Box 7062, Kampala,
Uganda.
301
J Sci Food Agric 0022-5142/97/$09.00 ( 1997 SCI. Printed in Great Britain
b-carotene in a food may be considered a reliable indi-
cation of vitamin A value (Lauber et al 1967). Thus, it is
appropriate to apply color measurements for rapid esti-
mation of carotenoid content (Lauber et al 1967 ;
McGuire 1992 ; Takahata et al 1993 ; Camire et al 1994).
The advantages of this method are its rapidity and the
combination of quantitative and descriptive evaluation
of the color in a single determination. It has been used
with several food products (Kramer 1954 ; Worthington
1954). Ahmed and Scott (1962) published correlation
coefficients showing a high degree of association
between Hunter color value a and carotenoid content
of raw roots and processed samples from a series of
breeding lines of sweetpotatoes. Hunter color param-
eters did not show any dierences for transversal cuts in
the root (proximal, median and distal) (Almeida et al
1992). Cooking, however, resulted in signicant
decreases in the parameters, L (lightness) and ]a (red)
and an increase of [a (green) parameters. The b
parameter (yellow) decreased due to cooking in the case
of some lines.
302
Carotenoids in white-eshed sweetpotato cultivars
were studied by Martin (1983) and Almeida and Pen-
teado (1988). Although loosely called white-eshed,
these vary from white to cream, light yellow or light
orange. Cooking almost invariably intensies the color.
The cooked root may be white, grey, greenish, yellow-
ish, yellow or orange. White-eshed sweetpotatoes are
usually preferred as a food in the tropics, because they
do not have a carrot-like sweet avour (Martin 1983).
The green color of the cooked sweetpotatoes may be
associated with an epoxide of the carotenoids (Ball
1988).
The objective of this study was to determine the
relationship between Hunter color reading and b-
carotene content in raw and processed sweetpotatoes.
The use of the Hunter Color Meter is being tested, so
that it may be used where HPLC is not available. The
following studies were carried out to arrive at an
answer. Four cultivars of white-eshed sweetpotatoes of
African originT3013, T1702, T3002 and T3006were
chosen and carotene in them was evaluated.
MATERIALS
Sweetpotatoes (Ipomoea batatas Lam) were obtained as
tissue culture from the International Institute of Tropi-
cal Agriculture (Nigeria) through the USDA-ARS
Southern Regional Plant Introduction Station. All
sweetpotato varieties were grown at Hill Farm
(Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA),
following common cultural practices. The sweetpotatoes
were harvested mechanically and the sweetpotatoes that
were not damaged during harvest were chosen for the
study. After harvest the sweetpotatoes were packed in
18 kg crates and placed in a purpose-built curing room
for 1 week. The curing room was at 30C and 8090%
relative humidity. This resulted in the healing of any
wounds that were incurred during harvest and post-
harvest handling. Curing provided a barrier to moisture
loss and impeded microbial invasion of the tissue by
means of suberisation. The sweetpotatoes were then
stored in a purpose-built storage facility at 15C and
8090% relative humidity for 16 months until needed
for the experiment. The four sweetpotato cultivars
ranged in esh color from white to yellow, and were
used for color and total carotenoid content determi-
nation for both raw and puree samples.
METHODOLOGY
Processing into pure e
Sweetpotato roots were sprayed with warm water to
remove surface soil and lye peeled for 35 min in a
sodium hydroxide solution (150 g litre~1) at 8090C.
M A Ameny, P W W ilson
They were rinsed in water to remove sodium hydroxide
and coarsely chopped in a food cutter (Hobart Manu-
facturing Co, Troy, OH, USA) to a 510 mm particle
diameter. Fifteen percent of the chopped portion was
removed to be added back later as a source of enzyme
for the conversion of starch. The remaining chopped
material was cooked for 40 min in a stream-jacketed
kettle at 90C and ground through a comminuting mill,
with a 5 mm screen (Fitzpatrick Co, Chicago, IL, USA)
to form a puree. The chopped raw portion was added
and the mixture held at 7274C for 20 min, after which
the temperature was raised to 90C to inactivate
enzymes. The puree was milled using an 08 mm screen.
Consistency was adjusted by adding water to achieve
68 Bostwick at 90C. Cans (401 ] 411 mm) were lled
with the puree and processed in a steam retort at 115C
for 100 min. The canned purees were stored at 1725C.
Carotenoid determination
Carotenoid content was determined as described by
Ameny (1994). Sweetpotatoes were grated lengthwise on
a cheese grater. Ten grams of each grated sample was
weighed in a homogenizer (Omni 17105, Omni Interna-
tional Waterbury, CT, USA). To this was added 20 g of
anhydrous sodium sulphite, 1 g of magnesium carbon-
ate and 100 ml of stabilised tetrahydrofuran (THF). For
the processed puree, 10 g were weighed into the homog-
eniser, followed by 20 g of anhydrous sodium sulphate,
1 g magnesium carbonate and 100 ml of stabilised
THF. The samples were homogenised for 5 min at a
slow speed, then vacuum ltered through a Buchner
funnel tted with a Whatman d42 lter paper. The l-
trate was then brought to a nal volume of 500 ml,
evaporated to dryness at 40C over nitrogen in a rotary
evaporator (Buchi Laboratorimus-Technik AG, Flavil,
Switzerland) and taken to a nal volume of 10 ml with
stabilised THF. The extracts were stored in brown
bottles with Teon-lined caps under nitrogen in a cold
room at [20C until needed for injection into an
HPLC, for spectrophotometric analysis and Hunter
color analysis. The term carotenoid as used refers to the
THF-soluble pigments exhibiting absorption at 450 nm.
Spectrophotometry
Spectrophotometric analyses were done on extracts
using a scanning UVVis spectrophotometer (Perkin
Elmer, Norwalk, CT, USA), to determine the maximum
absorption wavelength. Total carotenoids were then
determined at the maximum wavelength of absorption
with b-carotene as a standard. Stock solutions of b-
carotene (Sigma Chemical Co, St Louis, MO, USA)
were prepared by weighing 25 mg into a 100 ml brown
low actinic volumetric ask and bringing the volume to
100 ml with THF. Four working standards were pre-
b-Carotene content of African sweetpotato
pared by taking 1, 2, 3 or 4 ml from the stock and
making up to 100 ml. Standards were stored at [20C
under nitrogen. A standard curve was prepared using
the working solutions and the unknown b-carotene was
determined against the standard.
HPLC determination of b-carotene
A rapid non-aqueous reverse-phase HPLC was used,
modied from Bushway (1985). Conditions were as
follows : column packing, C-18 5k Vydac 201TP54 ;
column, 150 mm ] 46 mm ; isocratic solvent,
methanol/chloroform (90 : 10) ; ow rate, 1 ml min~1 at
500 psi ; ambient temperature, 20C. b-Carotene was
used as standard to determine the retention time
(Ameny 1994).
Hunter Color Laboratory measurements
Tristimulus instruments are designed to respond to
spectral distributions of light in the same manner as the
human eye. Duplication of the human eye response to
light is accomplished by adjusting the spectral responses
of photodetectors with lters so that they are spectrally
equivalent to the International Commission on Illumi-
nation (CIE) standard (Hunter and Harold 1987). A tri-
stimulus instrument has, in addition to source
lter-photodetector combinations for standard observer
simulation, a device that computes directly chromatic
dimensions of color, such as a, and b or x and y. Hunter Color Tristimulus meter readings and the
Such an instrument with direct readings of R , a and
d
b, or L, a and b scales is called a tristimulus color-
imeter. The L measures from black (0) to white (100),
]b measures yellow, [b measures blue, ]a is for red,
while [a measures green colors.
Seven roots, approximately 300 g, of each sweetpo-
tato cultivar were selected, washed, hand peeled with a
stainless-steel knife and cut transversely (discs) in the
median region for color measurements (raw roots). The
discs were then boiled for 10 min and Hunter color
readings were taken immediately.
Color was determined immediately on the freshly cut
transverse surface from the median portions of the root
using a Hunter Color Laboratory Machine, Model
XL-23 Colorimeter (Gardner Instruments, Gardner
Laboratory Inc, Bethesda, MD, USA), using White
Standard Tile XL-23-168-C Normal Beam, angle 45,
opening 5 cm, and LL \ 9294, aL \ [089 and
bL \ 148. The outside (surface) color was measured by
placing the peeled central area of the unprocessed root
on the color meter opening. Extracts were obtained
from storage at [20C for color determination. Color
and carotenoid content were determined on canned
puree samples of four sweetpotato varieties after storage
for at least 1 month. The colors of puree samples were
evaluated as the average of duplicate samples from
303
seven cans from the same batch. Ten grams of the puree
was placed in a layer in the glass container and this was
sufficient to allow dierentiation of meter readings due
to the transmitted light. the hue angle was determined
as tan~1 b/a (Little 1975).
Statistical analyses
Regression analysis was carried out to determine the
relationship between b-carotene and color values L, a,
b, hue and b/a (SAS 1994). Analysis of variance of color
values was computed by GLM and the dierence
between means was determined by Duncans test.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The total carotenoids in the sweetpotatoes were then
analysed for UVVis characteristics in comparison to a
b-carotene standard at 450 nm to determine the
approximate total carotenoid content in the extracts ;
the results are shown in Table 1. The total carotenoid
contents varied from 0 to 2600 kg kg~1 in the raw
extracts and from 200 to 1900 kg kg~1 in the processed
samples. The b-carotene ranged from 143 to
1260 kg kg~1, fresh weight basis (fwb). A comparison
was carried out with work previously done on b-
carotene and this is shown in Table 2.
carotenoid content in white-eshed sweetpotato
Analysis of the color values showed that there was a
signicant dierence in the L (white) values (P \ 005)
for the surface of hand-peeled and uncooked sweetpo-
tatoes and the middle region. The L (white) values for
the middle region were higher than the surface values,
implying that the surface is darker than the middle
portion (Table 3).
The a (red) values of the surface and the middle
region were signicantly dierent (P \ 005) for all the
cultivars. For cultivar T3002, the a (red) value for the
surface was higher than that for the middle region ;
similar results were obtained for the a (red) values in
T3013 and T3006. The a (red) value for T1702 for the
middle region was higher than the surface a (red) value,
implying that the middle portion was redder than the
surface. Therefore, it probably has more carotenoids
(Lauber et al 1967).
The b (yellow) values for the surface and the middle
region were not signicantly dierent for cultivar
T3002, but were dierent for cultivars T3013 and
T3006, and similar for cultivar T1702. The color value
changes may be due to changes in carotenoid concen-
tration being dierent in content in the middle and
outer regions (Gross 1991).
304 M A Ameny, P W W ilson

TABLE 1
Absorption wavelengths and total carotenoids in sweetpotatoesa

T otal carotenoid content (fwb) (kg kg~1)

Samples T reatment Range Mean Distinct Peak (nm)

T1702 Raw 22002600 24914 ^ 1704a 428, 454

Puree 9001900 15714 ^ 6818b 428
T3002 Raw 0200 642 ^ 1025f
Puree 4002500 9157 ^ 8082cb
T3006 Raw 9002400 14487 ^ 4815b 428, 453
Puree 7001200 9333 ^ 1598c 428
T3013 Raw 300500 4314 ^ 1030d
Puree 200500 2457 ^ 1009e

a Numbers with the same following letters are not signicantly dierent at P \ 005.
b Means for four readings, the rest are means for seven readings. Duncans Multiple Range
Test.

Boiling for 10 min aected the color values for all the changes in carotenoids, caramelisation, oxidation or
cultivars (Table 4). The L (white) values decreased on phenol action during boiling. The other cultivars of
boiling, but were not signicantly dierent from those sweetpotatoes still had signicant dierences between
of the uncooked samples. The decrease could be due to the L (white) values despite the general decrease in L

TABLE 2
Comparison of b-carotene contents of sweetpotatoes from various parts of
the world

Cultivar/Country b-Carotene (kg kg~1, fwb)

T1702 (raw, African) 1040

T102 (puree, African) 1144
T3006 (raw, African) 2162
T3006 (puree, African) 501
Sweetpotato (fresh, orange, Australia) 66 000*
Sweetpotato (orange, steamed, Indonesia) 1550*
Sweetpotato (orange, fresh Indonesia) 7360*
Sweetpotato (yellow, Vietnam) 21 900*

a From West and Poortuliet (1993).

TABLE 3
External and internal color values of unprocessed cured sweetpotatoa

Samples L b/a T an~1 b/a a b

T1702 Middle 780cd 209 6446 1613a 3376a

Surface 766ef 368 7483 94b 3468a
T3002 Middlea 851a 131 858 201fg 2743cd
Surface 824ab 65 8129 431g 2815cd
T3006 Middle 7831d 291 7106 758cd 221e
Surface 7453b 381 7531 875bc 3344ab
T3013 Middle 8112bc 779 8269 355eg 2768cd
Surface 743 529 7931 57dc 302b

a Figures in the same column with the same following letter are not signicantly
dierent at P \ 005.
b Middle \ Inside portion, cut transversely. n \ 3.
b-Carotene content of African sweetpotato 305

TABLE 4
Color values for boiled, pureed and extracts from puree and raw sweetpotatoesa

Samples T reatment n L b/a T an~1 b/a a b

T1702 Boiled 3 622h 511 7893 62c 317ab

Puree 7 319jk 181 6117 82bc 149f
ExtractP 7 2997jk 116 4925 [143i [166jk
ExtractR 9 3038jk [154 [570 [22i 37hi
T3002 Boiled 3 768ef 130 8562 213hg 2784cd
Puree 5 367i 286 707 436eg 1248f
ExtractP* 7 326j 286 7074 [12i [25jk
ExtractR* 7 3158j 208 6435 [171i [569jk
T3006 Boiled 3 6361b 494 7856 631dc 312bc
Puree 7 2974k [61 [807 [216i 133f
ExtractP 3 309jk 084 40 [179i [151jk
ExtractR 11 315jk 016 94 [214i [036ij
T3013 Boiled 3 711g 811 829 35eg 2840bc
Puree 7 337ji 221 6571 559de 1239f
ExtractP 7 302jk 396 758 [114i [452jk
ExtractR 11 3264jk 477 7818 [131i [54jk

a Figures with the same following letters in the same column are not signicantly dierent at
P \ 005.
b ExtractP* \ puree extract ; ExtractR \ Raw extract.

(white) value. Lye peeling and processing to puree
decreased the L (white) value for all the samples,
implying that the samples became less white or darker
on pureeing. This was probably due to oxidation, phe-
nolic action or caramelisation (Gross 1991). The
extracts both for puree and uncooked samples had
decreased L (white) values. There was no dierence
(P \ 005) in the L (white) values of the processed and
uncooked extracts at P \ 005.
The a (red) values for T3002 and T3013 did not
change on boiling. In the other cultivars, T1702 and
T3006, there was a decrease in the a (red) values. All
the extracts had [a (green) values and there were no
signicant dierences among them at P \ 005. The a
(red) value for the puree also decreased, as compared to
that of the unprocessed sweetpotatoes, that for T3006
becoming [ a (green). Thus, the processed samples
became less red and more green probably due to isom-
erisation of carotenoids, or complexing of carotenoids
with proteins (Gross 1991).
The b (yellow) value for T3002 was unchanged on
boiling. It increased for T3013 and T3006, and for
T1702 it decreased. All the extracts had [b (blue)
values meaning the extracts were more blue, probably
due to complexing with proteins by the carotenoids
(Bauernend 1972). The puree values decreased for
T3002, T3013, T1702 and T3006. Thus, pureeing makes
the sweetpotato less yellow, probably due to cara-
melisation or carotenoid loss (Gross 1991).
The hue angle of the middle region for cultivars
T3002 and T3013 was higher than that of the surface
region. For cultivars T1702 and T3006, the hue angle
for the middle region was less than that for the surface
area. On boiling the hue angle for cultivar T3002 did
not change ; the value for T3013 decreased and
increased for T1702 and T3006. On pureeing, the hue
angles for T3002, T3013, T1702, T3006 all decreased.
The hue angles for the extracts for T3002, T3013, T1702
and T3006 were all lower than those of the correspond-
ing raw & puree samples, but the decrease was greater
for the raw extract than the processed extract in T3002,
T1702 and T3006, while the processed extract decreased
more than the raw extract in T3013. The change in hue
angle may be due to loss, oxidation or isomerization of
carotenoids, caramelisation or to enzyme action (Gross
1991).
Relationship between color values L, a, b, b/a and tan~1
b/a and b-carotene content
Regression analysis was carried out on the color values
L, a, b, b/a and tan~1 b/a to b-carotene. Correlation
analysis was carried out to determine the strength of the
linear relationship between the two variables, color and
b-carotene content. The results are shown in Table 5.
The color value b (yellow) had the highest correlation
coefficient of 074 (P \ 005) showing that the relation
between b-carotene and color value b (yellow) is linear,
followed by L (white), with r \ [074. The value a
(red) had r of 039, showing very little association
between color value a and carotene content. The b
(yellow) color value appears to be the best measure for
correlation between color value and b-carotene concen-
tration. Takahata et al (1993) found the color value a
306 M A Ameny, P W W ilson

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