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Optimisation of biological and physical parameters for lycopene supercritical CO 2 extraction from ordinary and high‐pigment tomato cultivars
Author(s) -
Lenucci Marcello S,
Caccioppola Alessandro,
Durante Miriana,
Serrone Lucia,
Leonardo Rescio,
Piro Gabriella,
Dalessandro Giuseppe
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.4006
Subject(s) - lycopene , oleoresin , cultivar , extraction (chemistry) , chemistry , food science , supercritical fluid extraction , horticulture , chromatography , carotenoid , biology
BACKGROUND: Lycopene is used for several industrial applications. Supercritical CO 2 (SC‐CO 2 ) extraction from red‐ripe tomato fruits is an excellent technique to replace the use of harmful solvents. In this study, starting from red‐ripe tomatoes of ordinary and high‐lycopene cultivars, the effect of different agronomical and technical aspects on lycopene content, stability and yield was evaluated throughout the production process from fresh tomatoes to the final SC‐CO 2 ‐extracted oleoresin containing lycopene. RESULTS: Red‐ripe tomato cultivars differed in their lycopene content. Irrigation excess or deficit caused an increase in the amount of lycopene in the fruits. Fresh tomatoes were processed into a lyophilised matrix suitable for SC‐CO 2 extraction, which could be stored for more than 6 months at − 20 °C without lycopene loss. Under the optimal extraction conditions, efficiencies of up to 80% were achieved, but the recovery of lycopene in the extracted oleoresin was very low (∼24%). Co‐extraction of the tomato matrix mixed with a lipid co‐matrix allowed the recovery of ∼90% of lycopene in the oleoresin. Using the high‐lycopene cultivars, the yield of total extracted lycopene increased by ∼60% with respect to the ordinary cultivars. Lipids and other biologically active molecules were present in the oleoresin. CONCLUSION: A method for extracting, from a tomato matrix, a natural and solvent‐free oleoresin containing lycopene dissolved in a highly unsaturated vegetable oil has been described. The oleoresin represents an excellent product for testing on cancer and cardiovascular disease prevention. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry