*2.1. Chemicals*

The standards of β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin and physalein, Standard purity was above 98% were purchased from Extrasynthese (Genay, France), and the solvents MeOH (Methanol), MTBE (Methyl-t-butyl ether) and H2O (Water) from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy).

#### *2.2. Collection and Preparation of the Samples*

The fruits of kumquat (*Fortunella margarita*) (Figure 1) were collected in the morning, in May 2017, in the rural area of Viçosa (latitude 20◦ 44' 05" S and longitude 42◦ 51' 27" W), Minas Gerais, Brazil. Samples were collected in four repetitions of approximately 1 kg each. The fruit maturation was determined according to Donadio et al. [27] and defined by the red-orange peel color and the characteristic smell. In addition, ripe fruits were considered as those obtained after their natural fall of the trees or fall after being lightly touched by the hands.

The species was identified with the help of taxonomists from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa Herbarium through the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV [28], where it has already been cataloged and registered in the Virtual Herbarium network with the following records: EAC 48987, HUCO 5197, HPL 8977 and SP 42766.

The samples were transported from the harvest site to the laboratory protected in styrofoam boxes with blocks of ice, within two hours after collection. In the laboratory, the samples were selected for appearance, excluding those with any epidermis injury or mechanical damage due to transport. The fruits were removed from the seeds (peel + pulp) were homogenized in a food processor (RI 7625, Philips, São Paulo Brazil), lyophilized (Liotop-LP510, Liobras, São Carlos, Brazil) and stored in plastic containers with screw caps, covered with aluminum foil stored at −18 ± 1 ◦C until further analyses.

**Figure 1.** Kumquat (whole fruit and cross-section) from Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
