Recovery of palm carotene from palm oil derivatives using liquid-liquid extraction and liquid antisolvent precipitation

Carotenoids are phytonutrients with antioxidant properties that improve eye health, cardiovascular function, and skin health. Palm oil has the highest known concentration of carotenoids derived from crops. Although crude palm oil (CPO) is rich in palm carotene, the conditions of palm oil processing are destructive and cause a great loss of this beneficial phytonutrient in refined palm oil. Hence, extraction of palm carotene in a sustainable manner is on demand. Liquid-liquid extraction and liquid antisolvent precipitation were applied in the recovery of palm carotene from CPO and CPO-derived biodiesel.