Tocopherol and Carotenoid Contents of Selected Korean Cooked Combination Foods Consumed by Young Korean Children

To more accurately estimate vitamin A and vitamin E intake of Koreans, food composition databases of the tocopherol and carotenoid contents of Korean foods are needed. In this study, the tocopherol $(\alpha-,\;\gamma-,\;and\;\delta-)$ and carotenoid ($\alpha-carotene,\;\beta-carotene,\;\beta-ctyptoxanthin$, lutein, and zeaxanthin) contents of 12 Korean cooked combination foods commonly consumed by children in Kwangju, Republic of Korea, were determined using reversed-phase HPLC. All samples were obtained from 3 different households in Kwangju during summer, 2005. All cooked foods in this study had detectable quantities of $\alpha-tocopherol,\;\gamma-tocopherol$ except for shoegogimugook, and $\delta-tocopherol$ except for myulchibokkeum Doejigogibokkeum had the highest $\alpha-tocopherol$ content (0.64 mg/l00 g edible portion), and $\gamma-tocopherol\;and\;\delta-tocopherol$ contents of gimbab were the highest among the foods (1.01 and 0.26 mg/l00 g edible portion). $\beta-carotene$ was found in all food samples. Gimbab had the highest contents of $\alpha-carotene,\;\beta-carotene$, and lutein among Korean cooked combination foods (158.3, 266.6, and $375.4{\mu}g/100g$ edible portion). Miyukgook contained only $\beta-carotene$ ($2.5{\mu}g/100g$ edible portion). Considerable sample-to-sample variability in tocopherol and carotenoid compositions were observed in several Korean cooked combination foods included in this study. Some of these carotenoids $(\alpha-carotene,\;\beta-carotene,\;and\;\beta-cryptoxanthin)$ are vitamin A precursors. The findings of this study may be valuable for use in Korean databases as well as nutrient consumption research for vitamin A and vitamin E.