Study species Study site Total chlorophyll (mg/ 100g) Carotenes content (mg/ 100g) Total carotenoids β-Carotene Lycopene Eruca sativa Black sand 952.000 ± 2.000*** 1.315 ± 0.005*** ___ ___ Inland site 727.000 ± 2.000 0.935 ± 0.005 ___ ___ Lycopersicum esculentum Black sand ___ 9.862 ± 0.003*** 4.128 ± 0.007*** 10.773 ± 0.003*** Inland site ____ 8.440 ± 0.003 3.135 ± 0.005 9.520 ± 0.030 Psidium guajava Black sand ___ 3.563 ± 0.001*** 4.112 ± 0.003*** ___ Inland site ___ 3.288 ± 0.001 7.633 ± 0.031 ___ Mangifera indica Black sand ____ 7.234 ± 0.001*** 4.983 ± 0.003*** ___ Inland site ___ 9.481 ± 0.003 2.174 ± 0.004 ___ Different superscript stars for the same species indicate a significant difference, *** significant at P ≤ 0.001; ** significant at P ≤ 0.01 and * significant at P ≤ 0.05.

Table 3: Total chlorophyll and carotenes content (mg/100 g fresh weight edible portion) of the study plant species cultivated in the coastal black sand and in the inland (control) sites. Data are expressed as mean ± S.D (n=5).