Extração de Antocianinas do fruto da Carnaúba (Copernicia Prunifera)

Abstract

The food industry aims to improve the coloration of processed foods using anthocyanins, promising natural pigments, although they are unstable when exposed to factors such as pH, temperature, and light. This research seeks to extract anthocyanins from the fresh fruit of the carnauba palm to identify suitable conditions for maximizing nutritional yield, considering that the extraction process can affect their degradation. The fruits were divided into three batches, sanitized in a sodium hypochlorite solution, with the pulp removed, packaged, and stored in a domestic freezer. After 60 days, the pulps were crushed and refrozen at -18°C. The crushed pulp was mixed with acidified solvent (85:15, solvent/acid) in a ratio of 5g of pulp to 10ml of solvent. Extraction was performed in an ultrasonic bath for 30, 40, and 60 minutes, followed by centrifugation for 20 minutes, separating the supernatant (extract) from the residue. The extract was used to quantify the total anthocyanin yield. Total anthocyanin quantification was performed using the pH differential method. The extract sample was transferred to a test tube, where potassium chloride buffer was added. After 10 minutes in the absence of light, the sample was read in a spectrophotometer. The procedure was repeated with sodium acetate buffer. The extraction tests with varying times indicated that 40 minutes was the most efficient, resulting in the highest anthocyanin concentration. A longer extraction time (60 minutes) reduced yield due to oxidative degradation. Therefore, optimizing extraction time and solvent volume is essential to maximize yield and ensure anthocyanin stability, especially for commercial applications.