Carotenoids extraction and quantification: a review

Abstract

In recent years carotenoids have represented a good alternative for the pharmaceutical and food industries and especially for the human health, they prevent different diseases, such cancer, macular degradation and cataracts. The use of post-harvest residues represents a good alternative for obtaining analytes of interest. The application of enzymatic pretreatment over plant matrices has resulted in an increase in the level of extraction and lowered operating costs. Today, the use of organic solvents such as hexane in this process is frequent, however, new investigations with novel environmentally friendly solvents (non-toxic) promise new cleaner technologies. The aim of this review is to present some methodologies and technologies used today to obtain carotenoids from plant residues, industrial and post-harvest materials.