Process optimization for the supercritical carbondioxide extraction of lycopene from ripe grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) endocarp

Supriya Priyadarsani,Abhijit Kar,Avinash Singh Patel,Sukanta Dash

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-89772-6

Abstract

In this study, an underutilized citrus family fruit named grapefruit was explored for the extraction of lycopene using supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) extraction technique. An experimental design was developed using response surface methodology to investigate the effect of supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) operating parameter viz., pressure, temperature, CO2 flow rate, and extraction time on the extraction yield of lycopene yield from grapefruit. A total of 30 sets of experiments were conducted with six central points. The statistical model indicated that extraction pressure and extraction time individually, and their interaction, significantly affected the lycopene yield. The central composite design showed that the polynomial regression models developed were in agreement with the experimental results, with R2 of 0.9885. The optimum conditions for extraction of lycopene from grapefruit were 305 bar pressure, 35 g/min CO2 flow rate, 135 min of extraction time, and 70 °C temperature.

Highlights

In this study, an underutilized citrus family fruit named grapefruit was explored for the extraction of lycopene using supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) extraction technique
Recovery of lycopene from grapefruit at different experimental runs varied between 13.4% and 77.2% (Table 1)
The recovery percentages were calculated by evaluating the lycopene content in the fruit powder before extraction, recovered lycopene using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and the lycopene content in the residual powder

Summary

Introduction

An underutilized citrus family fruit named grapefruit was explored for the extraction of lycopene using supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) extraction technique. This study was investigated to understand the effect of the supercritical extraction parameter such as temperature, pressure, time, and CO2 flow rate on the extraction yield of lycopene from the freeze-dried grapefruit powder. This increase may be attributed to the fact that the increased pressure enhanced solvent density of the supercritical CO2 resulting in enhanced solubility of lycopene as it has been reported by some researchers

Results

Conclusion