PERFORMANCE OF MENTHOL BASED DEEP EUTECTIC SOLVENTS IN THE EXTRACTION OF CAROTENOIDS FROM CRUDE PALM OIL

Currently, alternative chemical methods that produce less adverse effects on the environment are being explored to replace the conventional chemical methods. One example is the use of green solvents to replace the conventional hazardous solvents that are used extensively in industry. Palm oil contains vegetable oil which has many types of small components such as carotenoids, which have a natural source of provitamin A and are able to supply a relatively expensive source of vitamin A. Carotenoid compounds related to palm oil are useful ingredients for users who are sought by antioxidants. In this study, carotenoids in palm oil was extracted using a solvent extraction method with methanol and a Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES) as a co-solvent. DES which used was DL-Menthol-based DES as a Hydrogen Bond Donor (HBD) and acetic acid and lauric acid as Hydrogen Bond Acceptors (HBA) which were reacted with 1: 1 and 2: 1 molar ratios. DES was formed in the characterization of its physicochemical properties which include: Viscosity, Density and pH while characterization of the functional groups using FTIR. The optimum conditions for carotene extraction in this study were 212.7 ppm using DES MLA, while for the concentration of β-carotene obtained 0.156 ppm. These results showed that the DES solvent as a co-solvent can increase the yield of carotene extraction in crude palm oil.