Abstract
Macroalgae are one of potential sources for carotenoids, such as fucoxanthin, which are consumed by humans and animals. This carotenoid has been applied in both the pharmaceutical and food industries. In this study, extraction of fucoxanthin from wet brown seaweed Undaria pinnatifida (water content was 93.2%) was carried out with a simple method using liquefied dimethyl ether (DME) as an extractant in semi-continuous flow-type system. The extraction temperature and absolute pressure were 25 °C and 0.59 MPa, respectively. The liquefied DME was passed through the extractor that filled by U. pinnatifida at different time intervals. The time of experiment was only 43 min. The amount of fucoxanthin could approach to 390 μg/g dry of wet U. pinnatifida when the amount of DME used was 286 g. Compared with ethanol Soxhlet and supercritical CO2 extraction, which includes drying and cell disruption, the result was quite high. Thus, DME extraction process appears to be a good method for fucoxanthin recovery from U. pinnatifida with improved yields.
Highlights
Undaria pinnatifida is consumed as one of the most popular, traditional seaweeds, inEast Asian countries such as Japan and Korea
The results showed that supercritical CO2 is more selective for carotenes than the usual organic liquid extraction and it is preferred for handling temperature-sensitive molecules
The results showed that extraction of fucoxanthin from U. pinnatifida using supercritical CO2 with ethanol as a co-solvent and enzymatic pre-treatment followed by dimethyl ether (DME) extraction have no effect on the fucoxanthin properties [20]
Summary
Undaria pinnatifida is consumed as one of the most popular, traditional seaweeds, inEast Asian countries such as Japan and Korea. Dry U. pinnatifida particles swell in hot water, and are used as an ingredient in popular foods such as bean paste soup in Japan. The main functional constituent of U. pinnatifida is fucoxanthin [1,2], which is a xanthophylls pigment contained in the chloroplasts of brown macroalgae. Pressurized solvent extraction has been used, for example, to isolate carotenoids from brown macroalgae, such as Eisenia bicyclis [13], Cystoseira abies-marina, and Himanthalia elongata [14]. Fucoxanthin exhibited sensitivity towards some factors such as light and pH, the least stable in acidic pH condition and higher concentration of ascorbic acid supplementation exerted stabilization role on fucoxanthin [19], and carotenoids are thermally decomposed in hot-drying
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
