Otimização da extração por solventes de B-caroteno em amostras de tomates (Solanum lycopersicum), abóboras (Cucurbita sp) e beterrabas (Beta vulgaris, L)

Abstract

Tomato, pumpkin and beet are high in carotenoids, which can be understood as red orange pigments. Carotenoids are found in these vegetables, such as lycopene and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is found in these vegetables, with considerable provitamin activity. Because of the great importance carotenoids are being determined in numerous foods. It should be noted that they are extracted by means of organic solvents, however they are instable in the face of light, oxygen and heating. The present work has the main objective of analyzing the extraction and quantification of carotenoids from tomato, pumpkin and beet by the use of solvents: acetone, ethanol and methanol, thus verifying the best extraction solvent. The methodology used is based on solvent extraction through the application of the blends planning, Simplex Centroid, for the solvents ethanol, acetone and methanol. The results obtained in the laboratory showed that the solvent with the highest performance for the extraction of carotenoids in the pumpkin and tomato samples was acetone, followed by ethanol solvent for both samples. In relation to the beet sample, the solvent with the highest performance was methanol, followed by acetone. These results demonstrate which solvent has the highest extraction yield in the samples used, besides adding information related to this line of research