Leaf mustard is an important commercial and culinary vegetable. However, only limited information is available on the content and composition of the nutritionally important lipophilic constituents in these leaves. This research presents information on the contents and composition of carotenoids, tocols, phytosterols, and fatty acids in four cultivars of leaf mustard. The carotenoids and tocols were analyzed utilizing liquid chromatography (LC)-mass spectrometry (MS) with single ion monitoring (SIM), while phytosterols and fatty acids were analyzed using gas chromatography (GC)-MS and GC-flame ionization detection (FID), respectively. The LC-MS results revealed the dominance of (all-E)-lutein, within the range of 37.12 (cv. Asia Curled)-43.54% (cv. Jeok) of the total carotenoids. The highest amount of all of the individual carotenoids and total carotenoids (143.85 µg/g fresh weight; FW) were recorded in cv. Cheong. Among the studied leaf samples, 67.16 (cv. Asia Curled)-83.42 µg/g FW (cv. Cheong) of α-tocopherol was recorded. Among the phytosterols, β-sitosterol was the most dominant one among the studied mustard leaves, accounting for 80.42 (cv. Jeok)-83.14% (cv. Red frill) of the total phytosterols. The fatty acid analysis revealed the presence of a significant amount of rare hexadecatrienoic acid (C16:3n3) in the studied mustard leaves, which accounted for 27.17 (cv. Asia Curled)-32.59% (cv. Red frill) of the total fatty acids. Overall, the cv. Cheong represented the highest contents of carotenoids, tocols, and phytosterols. Moreover, cv. Red frill contains the highest amount of n-3 PUFAs and antioxidant compounds. Thus, these cultivars can be promoted in cuisines which can be eaten to obtain the highest health benefits.
Keywords: antioxidant activity; carotenoids; fatty acids; lutein; omega-3 fatty acids; phytochemicals; phytosterols; tocopherol.