DETERMINATION OF OPTIMUM CONDITIONS FOR SUPERCRITICAL-FLUID EXTRACTION OF CAROTENOIDS FROM CARROT (DAUCUS-CAROTA L) TISSUE

The extraction and assay of antioxidant vitamins, such as carotenes, b y traditional solvent extraction (TSE) require multiple steps, are tim e-consuming, and consume large amounts of organic solvent. Supercritic al fluid extraction (SFE), a newer method for extracting natural produ cts, is cost effective and eliminates toxic organic waste. The objecti ve of this study was to optimize SFE of carotenoids from freeze-dried carrots and to compare this extraction to TSE. To optimize SFE for car otenoids, a factorial experiment was conducted. The factors assessed w ere the temperature of the sample chamber (30, 40, or 50 degrees C), t he pressure of the extraction fluid (300, 400, or 500 atm), and cosolv ent modification (5 or 10% ethanol). The optimum conditions for extrac tion of alpha-carotene and beta-carotene by SFE were 50 degrees C, 300 atm, and 10% cosolvent ethanol. Total provitamin A activity (alpha- p lus beta-carotene) was greater in SFE than in TSE. The time required f or SFE is 1 h as compared to 6 h for TSE. SFE is a reliable and improv ed method for extraction of carotenoids from carrot tissue.