Optimization of Carotenoid Pigment Extraction from Epicoccum nigrum Fermented Wheat Bran

Abstract

The extraction of secondary metabolites from natural resources is an essential downstream process and can be achieved by several methods. In this work, the influence of solvent-to-solute ratio, extraction time and temperature on carotenoid yield from the substrate fermented with Epicoccum nigrum was studied using Box-Behnken design. The extraction parameters under study were extraction temperature (30–50°C), solvent-to-solute ratio (10–30 mL/g), and time (30–120 min). The experimental results obtained were analyzed by analysis of variance and fitted to a second order polynomial equation using multiple regression analysis. The optimized level of different variables was obtained by using the procedure of the desired function. It was observed that extraction temperature of 40.27°C, 20.21 mL/g solvent-to-solute ratio, and extraction time of 76.22 min yielded 432.18 μg/g carotenoid with overall desirability value of 0.96. The established polynomial empirical model for the optimized recovery of the carotenoid pigment from E. nigrum fermented mass could be employed for further studies in the estimation of yield under specified variable conditions.