Institute of Industrial Fermentations of CSIC licenses a patent that allows the selective fractionation of lycopene and other carotenoids by Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) using carbon dioxide without modifier. Environmentally friendly process, without solvents which minimizes lycopene degradation. Lycopene is a nutraceutical product due to its function as health-promoting ingredient. A collaboration with agrofood or extraction company is sought to licence and built a prototype plant.
DESCRIPTIONThe SFE-unit consists of a high pressure pump and a extraction vessel designed for solid samples, which is connected to two separation vessels to recover the extracted compounds. Carbon dioxide (purity higher than 99%) is filtered through active charcoal (activated carbon microcolumn). A cooler placed before the pump is used to condense the carbon dioxide. To allow the selective fractionation of lycopene and other carotenoids (e.g., beta-carotene, fitoene and fitofluene), experimental conditions of pressure and temperature in the extraction and separation vessels are controlled through metering valves and thermocouples connected by electronic relays.Experimental conditions allow to minimize isomerization and oxidation reactions which promote lycopene degradation. Thus, a minimal loss of lycopene bioactivity during the extraction procedure is guaranteed.INNOVATIVE ASPECTS- Possibility of using SFE for the selective fractionation of tomato extracts to obtain the most stable isomer (all-trans form) of lycopene precluding the risk of oxidative degradation and the introduction of artifactual isomers during the process. Previous work about the usefulness of supercritical fluids for lycopene extraction mainly refers to supercritical conditions for the purification of the extracts obtained with liquid solvents rather than for the extraction process itself. The extraction of carotenoids from tomato using SFE has only been very recently reported by other authors but they did not investigate the degree of lycopene isomerization during the experimentation.- Method adequate for its subsequent use for lycopene extraction in large scale food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical application as the use of temperatures as low as to minimize trans to cis isomerization are also convenient to reduce the energetic costs of the process.COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES- Use of an environmentally friendly processes for industrial production of lycopene containing products, which meet safety regulations and legal restrictions as well as the increasing demand for the use of natural products.- Use of supercritical fluid technology for lycopene industrial production starting from very economical and natural sources (e.g., surplus of tomato production and tomato processing byproducts) provides an opportunity for functional food development and lycopene products in the global market. - Prevention of the carotenoids degradation results in higher sensory quality of the product as well as health benefits for consumers since the function of these compounds is often related to the presence of a specific isomer.- High selectivity of the lycopene extraction process and high stability of the extracted material resulting from its reduced potential for oxidation.KEYWORDSSupercritical fluids, lycopene, antioxidant, functional foods, nutraceutics, tomato, agricultural wastes valorization.008001001 Food Additives/Ingredients 008003 Nutrition and Health 010003004 RecoveryPATENT200201310, applied for at 2002-06-06CONTACTEstrella Marotoemail: e.maroto@orgc.csic.esphone: +34 91 585 52 51FOR MORE CSIC TECHNOLOGY OFFERS CLICK HERE
Tell a friend
