Recent development and challenges in extraction of phytonutrients from palm oil.

Phytonutrients are plant-derived bioactives which are widely utilized as colorants or supplements in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products. To meet the global demand for phytonutrients, oil palm has emerged as a promising source of phytonutrients on account of its large-scale plantation worldwide and high oil productivity. Phytonutrients including carotenoids, tocols, sterols, squalene, phospholipids, coenzyme Q10, and polyphenols can be found in crude palm oil as well as in the byproducts (e.g. palm oil mill effluent and palm-pressed fiber oil) generated from the palm oil milling process. However, the high viscosity and semisolid properties of palm oil are problematic in phytonutrient extraction. Another major challenge is the retention of the sensitive phytonutrients during the extraction process. Over the years, the advances in the extraction methods have improved the extractability of phytonutrients. The emerging extraction methods can operate under mild conditions to mitigate the risk of phytonutrient degradation. This review outlines the types of phytonutrient in palm oil and their extraction strategies. The working principles and operating conditions of extraction methods are discussed along with their potential and limitations in terms of extraction efficiency and practicability. The methods for pretreatment of feedstocks for improving extraction efficiency are also highlighted. The challenges in the extraction of phytonutrient from palm oil feedstock are summarized. Lastly, we provide suggestions for overcoming the limitations and improving the performances of phytonutrient extraction.

A facile water-induced complexation of lycopene and pectin from pink guava byproduct: Extraction, characterization and kinetic studies.

The redfleshed pulp discarded from pink guava puree industry is a rich source of lycopene and pectin. In this study, we developed a facile extraction process employing water as the primary extraction medium to isolate the lycopene and pectin from pink guava decanter. When the decanter was suspended in water, the complexation of lycopene and pectin formed the cloudy solution, where the colloidal complexes were recovered through centrifugation. The presence of lycopene and pectin in the complex was confirmed by the spectroscopic, microscopic and chromatographic analyses. The lycopene fractionated from the complexes had a purity level of 99% and was in all-trans configuration. The colloidal complexes yielding the highest concentration of lycopene was obtained at pH 7, 1% (w/v) solid loading and 25 °C. The experimental data of time-course extraction of lycopene-pectin complex were best fitted with two-site kinetic model, hinting the fast- and slow-release phases in the extraction process.