One-Step Preparation of Z-Isomer-Rich β-Carotene Nanosuspensions Utilizing a Natural Catalyst, Allyl Isothiocyanate, via Supercritical CO2

Yelin Zhang,Wahyudiono Wahyudiono,Tetsuya Fukaya,Masaki Honda,Motonobu Goto,Hideki Kanda

doi:10.3390/sym12050777

Abstract

This study aims to improve the production efficiency of β-carotene suspensions using a naturally occurring Z-isomerization-accelerating catalyst, allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), via supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2). Namely, utilizing solubility improvement of β-carotene with the Z-isomerization by adding AITC in the SC-CO2-used dispersion process, the encapsulation efficiency of β-carotene was enhanced. The dispersion of β-carotene was conducted by ultrasonic treatment, and there was no involvement of organic solvents in the whole process. When 100 mg of AITC was added in the dispersion process, the encapsulation efficiency (β-carotene content in resulting suspension) was approximately 3.5 times higher than that without addition of the catalyst. Moreover, the Z-isomer ratio of β-carotene in the suspensions significantly improved, that is, it was approximately 12 times higher than the raw β-carotene material. Since Z-isomers of β-carotene are known to have higher antiatherosclerotic and antiatherogenic activities compared to the all-E-isomer, this one-step method not only efficiently produces β-carotene suspensions without organic solvents but also enhances the bioactivities of them.

Highlights

In recent years, synthetic food colorants have not been extensively accepted by consumers.the demand for natural pigments such as carotenoids is increasing annually. β-Carotene is a natural fat-soluble carotenoid containing 11 conjugated double bonds (Figure 1) abundantly contained in fruits and vegetables with a deep orange color, such as mangos, carrots, and pumpkins [1,2]
This study aims to improve the performance of the production of β-carotene β-carotene nanosuspensions using plant-derived Z-isomerization-accelerating catalyst via SC-CO
Z-Isomers of β-carotene are more soluble in solvents, including supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2), than the all-E-isomer [5,11]

Summary

Introduction

Synthetic food colorants have not been extensively accepted by consumers.the demand for natural pigments such as carotenoids is increasing annually. β-Carotene is a natural fat-soluble carotenoid containing 11 conjugated double bonds (Figure 1) abundantly contained in fruits and vegetables with a deep orange color, such as mangos, carrots, and pumpkins [1,2]. Synthetic food colorants have not been extensively accepted by consumers. The demand for natural pigments such as carotenoids is increasing annually. Β-Carotene is a natural fat-soluble carotenoid containing 11 conjugated double bonds (Figure 1) abundantly contained in fruits and vegetables with a deep orange color, such as mangos, carrots, and pumpkins [1,2]. High crystallinity, and the poor water solubility of β-carotene, it is problematic to utilize it for food formulations [5,6]. The low solubility in water of fat-soluble components such as carotenoids could be prone to reducing the bioavailability [7]. In many food industrial cases, β-carotene is used after the water-soluble preparation (distributed processing) using emulsifiers. Several studies successfully obtained carotenoid nanosuspensions by emulsification-evaporation technique as follows: (1) dissolution of the target carotenoid in an organic

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