Folate contents of some selected Fijian foods using tri-enzyme extraction method

Folic acid and total folate contents of 18 common foods in the Fijian diet were assayed. Foods were purchased from the central and eastern parts of Viti Levu in Fiji. Tri-enzyme treatment was performed to release bound folates using protease and α-amylase, with chicken pancreas as the conjugase. The highest total folate content was recorded for egg yolk (Gallus domesticus) at 256 μg/100 g, followed by long beans (Vigna sesquipedalis) which contained 130 μg/100 g of total folate (fresh weight basis). The local leafy vegetable called Bele (Abelmoschus manihot) and the Drumstick leaves (Moringa oleifera) available in Fiji also had high total folate contents, above 100 μg/100 g (fresh weight basis). For the 18 foods studied, the content of folic acid ranged from 3 to 189 μg/100 g and the total folate content was in the range of 3–256 μg/100 g, indicating a very wide range of folate content in the foods studied.