Applications of Visible Spectroscopy and Color Measurements in the Assessments of Carotenoid Levels in Foods

Methods Mol Biol. 2020:2083:103-116. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9952-1_8.

Abstract

The color of the food can be evaluated visually or instrumentally. The instrumental measurement allows to measure the color objectively and can be carried out by different techniques, most of them fast, cheap, and simple. Carotenoids are responsible for the color of many plants and foods. The measurement of color can be an effective tool to determine indirectly the concentration of carotenoids in plants and foods. In this chapter, we describe both traditional and recent methodologies for color measurement.

Keywords: Digital image analysis (DIA); Reflection; Spectrophotometry; Spectroradiometry; Transmission; Tristimulus colorimetry.

MeSH terms

  • Carotenoids / analysis*
  • Carotenoids / chemistry
  • Color*
  • Colorimetry / methods
  • Food Analysis / methods*
  • Food*
  • Pigments, Biological / analysis*
  • Spectrophotometry / methods
  • Spectrum Analysis*

Substances

  • Pigments, Biological
  • Carotenoids