An effective high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, β-carotenoid and lutein in starchy foods, and could be applied to the routine work.MethodsThe compounds were extracted from homogenized samples using cyclohexane-ethyl acetate (80∶20, V/V) and cleaned up with silica gel SPE cartridges, then separated by a YMCTM carotenoid column (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm). The influence of extraction solvents and mobile phase on resolution was investigated. ResultsThe method was validated with respect to precision, accuracy, and linearity. The linear range was 0.5-100 μg/ml in spiked samples and the coefficients were 0.998 4-0.999 8. The average recoveries and the relative standard deviation ranged from 68.5%-101.2% and 3.4%-10.4%, respectively, for the spiked levels ranging at 1-100 mg/kg for each compound. The limits of quantification (LOQ) of all compounds were 1 mg/kg.ConclusionThis method was suitable for the determination of curcuminoides and carotenoids in starchy food.