MILD ENZYMATIC METHOD FOR THE EXTRACTION OF LYCOPENE FROM TOMATO PASTE

Four commercial enzyme preparations containing cell-wall degrading enzyme activities were tested for their ability to facilitate lycopene extraction from tomato paste. At 25 degrees C, up to 75.6% of the lycopene present in the tomato product was extracted by a two-stage procedure that consisted of a preliminary 5 hour enzyme incubation followed by a 3 hour solvent (hexane or ethyl acetate) extraction. Increasing the duration of the enzymatic treatment to 12-18 h allowed the recovery of 85-90% of total lycopene. The highest extraction yields were achieved by using enzyme preparations' with polygalacturonase and pectin methylesterase in addition to pectin lyase or cellulase activities.