Enzyme aided extraction of lycopene from tomato tissues Sheetal M. Choudhari, Laxmi Ananthanarayan * University Institute of Chemical Technology, Food Engineering and Technology Department, Matunga, Mumbai 400 019, India Received 22 August 2005; accepted 2 April 2006 Abstract Lycopene is a natural carotenoid pigment and a high value nutraceutical having wide use. The objective of the present work was to obtain a good yield of lycopene from tomato tissues, using cellulase and pectinase enzymes. Various parameters such as concentration of enzymes and time of incubation were optimised, to improve the yield of lycopene from tomatoes. Enzyme aided extraction of lycopene from whole tomatoes under optimised conditions resulted in an increase in the lycopene yield by 132 lg/g (198%) in cellulase treated sample and 108 lg/g (224%) in case of pectinase treated sample. Extraction from tomato peel under optimised conditions showed a remarkable increase in the yield of lycopene by 429 lg/g (107%) and 1104 lg/g (206%), for cellulase and pectinase treated samples, respectively. Likewise, the enzyme aided extraction of lycopene from fruit pulper waste and industrial waste of tomatoes was done to determine the potential for recovering the natural pigment from tomato waste. Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Lycopene; Cellulase; Pectinase; Extraction; Tomato 1. Introduction Lycopene, a carotenoid present in high concentration in tomatoes and tomato products, has attracted considerable attention recently, as epidemiological evidence continues to suggest that it may provide protection against cancer and other degenerative diseases, influenced by free radical reac- tions (Levy, Bosin, & Feldman, 1995). Recent epidemiolog- ical studies revealed that the intake of tomatoes and blood lycopene level are inversely associated with the risk of developing cancers at several anatomical sites, including the prostate gland, stomach, and lung. (Stahl & Sies, 1996). Conjugated carbon–carbon double bonds provide lyco- pene with its antioxidant properties, by successful delocal- ization of captured free radical species. Lycopene is in high demand not only by pharmaceutical companies but also for the food, feed, and cosmetic industries. Tomatoes and tomato products are considered as one of the best sources of lycopene. As determined by Gross (1987), the total lycopene content in tomatoes varies between 90 and 190 lg/g fresh weight (Baysal, Ersus, & Starmans, 2000). Lycopene is found predominantly in the chromoplast of plant tissues. In tomatoes, lycopene biosyn- thesis increases dramatically during the ripening process, as chloroplast undergoes transformation to chromoplast. Globulous chromoplast containing mainly b-carotene is found in the jelly part of the pericarp while chromoplast in the outer part of the pericarp contains voluminous sheets of lycopene. Sharma and Le Maguer (1996) reported the occurrence of lycopene in different fractions of tomato fruit such as tomato skin, the water insoluble fraction, and the fibrous fraction including the fibre and soluble solids. Their results indicated that 72–92% lycopene was associated with the water-insoluble fraction and the skin. Tomato extracts and especially skin extracts contain high amounts of lyco- pene (Sharma & Le Maguer, 1996). The waste during tomato processing is obtained in the form of seeds and skin residues, which could provide a use- ful source of lycopene (Sadler, Davies, & Dezman, 1990). The extraction, handling and analysis of lycopene must be carried out under controlled environmental conditions 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2006.04.031 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 22 2414 5616; fax: +91 22 2414 5614. E-mail address: laxmi@udct.org (L. Ananthanarayan). www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem Food Chemistry 102 (2007) 77–81 Food Chemistry