Dados do Trabalho

Título

LIQUID-LIQUID EXTRACTION OF CAROTENOIDS IN MULTIPLE STAGES

Introdução

Pequi oil is a food rich in bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, fatty acids, and vitamins, one of the reasons for its widely application in traditional medicine and culinary . In this context, the liquid-liquid extraction of carotenoids present in the oil can add value to its production chain and increase the availability of natural dyes in the market. Thus, this study aimed to extract carotenoids from pequi oil at 35 °C, in 3 stages, using acetic acid as the solvent in an oil-solvent ratio of 35/65.

Material e Métodos

The extractions were carried out in liquid-liquid equilibrium cells. The quantification of solvents in the extract and refined phases of the evaluated system was performed by titration with 0.1 M sodium hydroxide. At the same time, the difference between the initial and final masses of each phase determined the oil content. UV-visible spectrophotometry was employed to determine the concentration of carotenoids in the extract and refined phases. The percentage of pigment recovery was calculated as the ratio between the mass of carotenoids recovered in the refined phase at each stage and the mass of carotenoids initially present in the system's feed.

Resultados e Discussão

The concentrations of recovered carotenoids were 21.88 ± 0.42 μg/g in stage 1 , 10.12 ± 0.62 μg/g in stage 2, and 4.36 ± 0.23 μg/g in stage 3. The recovery percentages were 40.89% in stage 1, 41.05% in stage 2, and 39.33% in stage 3 . The total recovery of carotenoids was 61.52% when using the three extraction stages.

Conclusão

It is concluded that despite the higher volume of solvent required, factors such as the low cost of acetic acid compared to other solvents, as well as its availability in the market, make the liquid-liquid extraction process in multiple stages with acetic acid an advantageous proposal for the recovery of carotenoids from pequi oil, thereby expanding the opportunities for the utilization of pequi.