Stability assessment of lycopene microemulsion prepared using tomato industrial waste against various processing conditions

Waste and by-products as sources of lycopene, phytoene, and phytofluene - Integrative review with bibliometric analysis

Food loss and waste are severe social, economic, and environmental issues. An example is the incorrect handling of waste or by-products used to obtain bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids. This review aimed to present a comprehensive overview of research on lycopene, phytoene, and phytofluene obtained from waste and by-products. In this study, an integrative literature approach was coupled with bibliometric analysis to provide a broad perspective of the topic. PRISMA guidelines were used to search studies in the Web of Science database systematically. Articles were included if (1) employed waste or by-products to obtain lycopene, phytoene, and phytofluene or (2) performed applications of the carotenoids previously extracted from waste sources. Two hundred and four articles were included in the study, and the prevalent theme was research on the recovery of lycopene from tomato processing. However, the scarcity of studies on colorless carotenoids (phytoene and phytofluene) was evidenced, although these are generally associated with lycopene. Different technologies were used to extract lycopene from plant matrices, with a clear current trend toward choosing environmentally friendly alternatives. Microbial production of carotenoids from various wastes is a highly competitive alternative to conventional processes. The results described here can guide future forays into the subject, especially regarding research on phytoene and phytofluene, potential and untapped sources of carotenoids from waste and by-products, and in choosing more efficient, safe, and environmentally sustainable extraction protocols.

Microemulsion: a novel alternative technique for edible oil extraction_a mechanistic viewpoint

Microemulsions, as isotropic, transparent, nano size (<100 nm), and thermodynamically stable dispersions, are potentially capable of being used in food formulations, functional foods, pharmaceuticals, and in many other fields for various purposes, particularly for nano-encapsulation, extraction of bioactive compounds and oils, and as nano-reactors. However, their functionalities, and more importantly their oil extraction capability, strongly depend on, and are determined by, their formulation, molecular structures and the type, ratio and functionality of surfactants and co-surfactants. This review extensively describes microemulsions (definition, fabrication, thermodynamic aspects, and applications), and their various mechanisms of oil extraction (roll-up, snap-off, and solubilization including those by Winsor Types I, II, III, and IV systems). Applications of various food grade (natural or synthetic) and extended surfactants for edible oil extraction are then covered based on these concepts.

Microemulsions as nano-reactors for the solubilization, separation, purification and encapsulation of bioactive compounds

Bioactive components possess various functionalities and are most interested for different food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical formulations. The current review will discuss the preparation methods and fabrication techniques to design microemulsions (MEs) for the solubilization, separation, encapsulation and purification of various agro-food bioactive compounds. ME systems have shown suitable potential in enhancing oil recovery, protein extraction, and isolation of bioactive compounds. Moreover, the capability of ME based systems as drug and nutraceutical delivery cargos, and synthesis of various organic and inorganic nanoparticles, especially using biopolymers, will be investigated. ME liquid membranes are also developed as nano-extractor/nano-reactor vehicles, capable of simultaneous extraction, encapsulation or even synthesis of hydrophilic and lipophilic bioactive compounds for food, nutraceutical and drug applications.

Characterization of the behavior of carotenoids from pitanga (Eugenia uniflora) and buriti (Mauritia flexuosa) during microemulsion production and in a dynamic gastrointestinal system

Uncommon tropical fruits are emerging as raw-material for new food products with health benefits. This work aimed at formulating and processing microemulsions from pitanga (Eugenia uniflora) and buriti (Mauritia flexuosa) fruits, since they are very rich in carotenoids (particularly lycopene and β-carotene), in order to encapsulate and increase carotenoids' bioaccessibility. Pitanga and buriti microemulsions were produced by applying a direct processing (high-speed homogenization at 15,000 rpm and ultrasound with 20 kHz probe at 40% amplitude) of the whole pulp together with surfactant (Tween 80 or Whey Protein Isolate at 2%) and corn oil (5%). All treatments (HSH-US for 0-4, 4-0, 4-4, 4-8 min-min) applied were able to increase the amount of carotenoid released. However, the processing also decreased the total amount of carotenoids in the whole pulp of studied fruits. The impact of processing during microemulsion production was not severe. The overall data suggest that the presence of surfactant and oil during processing may protect the carotenoids in fruits and microemulsions. Final recovery of total carotenoids, after passing the samples through a dynamic gastrointestinal system that simulates the human digestion, was higher for microemulsions than for whole pulps. High losses of total carotenoids in buriti and β-carotene and lycopene in pitanga occurred during jejunum and ileum phases. The present work confirms that it is possible to increase β-carotene and lycopene bioaccessibility from fruits by directly processing microemulsions (p < 0.01).

Microemulsion as nanoreactor for lutein extraction: Optimization for ultrasound pretreatment

In the present study, the capability of microemulsion technique, as a novel technique for synchronous extraction and solubilization of lipophilic compounds, on lutein extraction from marigold petals was investigated. Under the optimized sonication (amplitude 100%, 120 s, 25°C), the extraction efficiency increased (85%) using SDS:ethanol (1:2)-based ME. Moreover, sonication led to smaller droplets (12-163 nm) with favorable thermodynamic stability. In addition, the developed MEs showed higher thermal and especially UV stability in comparison to organic solvent extracts which were fainted with first-order kinetics. It was also found that co-surfactant could be eliminated from formulation on the expense of the optimized sonication, was valuable output form industrial point of view. These findings revealed the high potential of ultrasound technique on the extraction and solubilization of lutein by ME technique which can be directly utilized in lutein-enriched functional foods and beverages. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: From applicability point of view, the solvent extracted compounds cannot be easily dissolved in food or pharmaceutical systems that are mostly hydrophilic. Therefore, microemulsions (MEs), as green and environmentally friendly food-grade systems, due to their potential capability for simultaneous extraction and solubilization of carotenoids are of great interest. Therefore, the present study confirmed the practical ability of MEs in lutein extraction and protection. All in all, the developed lutein MEs with high lutein extraction capacity and superior lutein chemical stability against thermal treatment and especially UV radiation is an original finding which allows design of new functional foods and could be potentially useful for enriching foods, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and supplement formulation.

Nano based lutein extraction from marigold petals: optimization using different surfactants and co-surfactants

Nanotechnology has high potential in processing of industrial crops and by-products in order to extract valuable biological active compounds. The present study endeavored to take advantage of nanotech approach (i.e microemulsion, ME), as a novel green technique, for lutein extraction from marigold (Tagetes erecta) as an industrial crop. The pseudo-ternary phase diagrams confirmed the effect of surfactant type on the formation of mono-phasic lutein MEs. The combination of sucrose monopalmitate:1-poropanol (1:5) showed the highest efficiency in the presence of marigold petal powder (MPP, 18%) and water (42%). In addition, the efficiency of primitive MEs (without co-surfactants) was outstandingly increased as MPP was moistened by co-surfactants. Furthermore, different MEs resulted in various droplet size (14–250nm), PDI (0.05–0.32) and zeta potential (−1.96 to −38.50 mV). These findings revealed the outstanding importance of the surfactants and co-surfactants and their ratio on the extraction capability of MEs. These findings also proved the capability of microemulsion technique (MET) as a potential alternative to conventional solvent with possible applicability for extraction of lutein and other industrial plant based bio-compounds.

Extraction of lycopene using a lecithin-based olive oil microemulsion

Incorporation of many water-insoluble nutraceuticals into aqueous formulations can present a real challenge for food industry. Hence, establishment of novel technologies for concurrent extraction and solubilisation of lipophilic compounds might be of a great interest. The main objective of the present study was to prepare olive oil microemulsions using different proportions of lecithin, 1-propanol, olive oil and water to examine their abilities to form microemulsion as well as extraction of lycopene from industrial tomato pomace. Lycopene extraction using 1 g tomato pomace and 4 extraction cycles applying 5 g microemulsion composed of lecithin: 1-propanol: olive oil: water (53.33:26.67:10:10 wt%) resulted in the highest extraction efficiency (88%). Such biocompatible and food-grade microemulsion containing lycopene can be applied in many food formulations where it can present a good solubility in aqueous and non-polar media and can improve the health-promoting properties of both lycopene and olive oil.