Ordóñez Santos, Luis EduardoHurtado Aguilar, PaolaRíos Solarte, Oscar DubanArias Jaramillo, Maria Enith2015-03-112015-03-1120141909-0455http://hdl.handle.net/10567/1266Introduction. Nowadays, there is a trend to use by-products to develop functional ingredients, such as antioxidants, polyphenols and carotenoids. Objective. Evaluate the content of carotenoids in waste materials from the agricultural transformation of tropical fruits. materials and methods. Five samples of orange, papaya, guava and pineapple waste materials were used as study samples. Each one had its pH, acidity and dry matter evaluated according to the AOAC, 2005, methodology. The CIELab color parameters and the total content of carotenoids were also evaluated, by the use of the spectrophotometric method, using an extraction solution of 2:1:1 hexane/acetone/ethanol. Results. The papaya waste had the highest carotenoid content -5,881±0,35 mg β-carotene/100g- followed by the guava -4,20±2,33 µg β-carotene/100g-. Conclusion. Papaya and guava wastes are promising sources of carotenoid pigments that can be used in pharmaceutical and food industries.esCorporación Universitaria LasallistaÁrea Metropolitana del Valle de AburráCarotenoidesIngredientes funcionalesFrutas tropicalesResiduos orgánicosArticle