CAPSAICIN RECOVERY FROM A CELL-CULTURE BROTH

The recovery of capsaicin from a cell Capsicum annuum culture broth is reported. First the solids are removed by filtration, and then liquid -liquid extraction is used to isolate the capsaicin. As observed from a previous study, chloroform was a better solvent than ethyl acetate a nd ethyl ether, and it was used to perform the extraction of the capsa icin in a reciprocating Karr column. The extraction studies were carri ed out by first using a synthetic mixture of capsaicin and water and t hen using cell culture broth. The operating conditions obtained in the pilot plant column are used to design a commercial-size reciprocating column.