Abstract: 【Objective】The berry of Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb. was found to accumulate lycopene up to 54 mg per 100 g of fresh weight, which is about 17 times higher than that of tomato. However, little is known about the carotenoid composition and content in the big and good tasty flesh of E. conferta Roxb., also a member of Elaeagnaceae family. This study aimed to analyze carotenoid components and contents in the fruit of E. conferta Roxb. by high performance liquid chromatograph（HPLC）method.【Method】 Methanol:chloroform (1:2 v/v) was used to extract carotenoids from ripe fruits of E. conferta Roxb.. The separation was carried on a YMC C30 (4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 µm, column temperature 235℃) and an injection volume was 20 μL. Methanol (A), 80% methanol containing 0.2% ammonium acetate (B) and methyl tert-butyl ether (C) were used as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL•min-1 through gradient elution: (1) 0-6 min, 95%A+5%B; (2) 7-11 min, 80%A+5%B+15%C; (3) 12-32 min, 30%A+ 5%B+65%C; (4) 33 min to end, 95%A+5%B. The eluent was detected at 244 nm. 【Result】 Lycopene and β-carotene were two major carotenoids in the flesh of E. conferta Roxb., and their content differed markedly between two genetic genotypes. The β-carotene content in Detianmihuahutuizi 1 was up to (231.84±16.00) µg•g-1DW, which is one of the highest ones in the known species. The flesh of Detianmihuahutuizi 2 contained lycopene of (1 054.10±29.19) µg•g-1DW, which is about seven times higher than that of tomato.【Conclusion】The results showed that the flesh of E. conferta Roxb. accumulated abundant lycopene and β-carotene, which endow E. conferta Roxb. as a wilding fruit resource with great development and application value. Meanwhile, E. conferta Roxb. also is an ideal research material for studying molecular mechanism of high accumulation of lycopene and β-carotene in fruit.

Key words: Elaeagnus conferta Roxb , lycopene , β-carotene , high performance liquid chromatography