Extraction and quantification of carotenoids from dehydrated mini-tomatoes (Sweet Grape) by applying different solvents

Abstract Nowadays, due to events such as urbanization, globalization and industrialization there has been an increase in illnesses connected to eating. It is believed that, in part, the consumption of fruits and vegetables helps prevent many of these diseases. Tomatoes contain high contents of carotenoids, which are red-orange pigments present in some vegetables. In the case of tomatoes, the carotenoids mostly found are lycopene and beta-carotene. Lycopene is found in greater amounts and acts as an important antioxidant, whereas beta-carotene is found in lesser amounts in the fruit and presents pro-vitamin A activity. Due to these and various other functions carried out by the carotenoids, they have been determined for a long time in various foods. They are easily extracted with organic solvents but show instability when in the presence of agents such as light, oxygen and heat. Thus this study aimed to analyze the extraction and quantification processes of carotenoids from dehydrated mini-tomatoes of the variety Sweet Grape by means of the solvent combinations: acetone/petroleum ether, acetone/chloroform and acetone/hexane, in order to verify which solvent was the best for this procedure. The carotenoids were quantified using a spectrophotometer by reading at 350-600 nm, referring to the absorption peaks of beta-carotene and lycopene. The results showed that the solvent with the best performance for extraction of the carotenoids from the product in question was the combination of acetone and hexane, followed by acetone/petroleum ether and finally acetone/chloroform, the latter also presenting a more difficult operational extraction procedure. With the acetone/hexane combination average contents of 25.71 and 26.53 mg 100 g-1 beta-carotene and lycopene, respectively, were extracted, showing a statistically significant difference at the 5% level from the extractions using the other solvents.