Study of the replacement of tartrazine yellow dye by Pequi carotenoids extracted using high performance ionic liquids

• Grant number: 21/00596-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2021
• Effective date (End): May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Science
• Principal researcher: Veridiana Vera de Rosso
• Grantee: Caroline Ramos da Silva Souza
• Home Institution: Instituto de Saúde e Sociedade (ISS). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Consumer requirements for purchasing processed food have increased considerably, especially speaking about food additives, searching for "clean label" and/or 100% natural food has been a trend. In this context, finding alternatives to synthetic dyes has become urgent. In order to achieve this objective, different strategies are set as goals aiming the application of natural dyes in industrialized foods, in order to maintain stability and color under adverse conditions of industrial processing. The development of new extraction methods to replace the use of volatile organic solvents is one of the trends for obtaining extracts of natural pigments. This way, the purpose of this project is to obtain a carotenoid extract from the Brazilian tropical fruit known as Pequi (Caryocar brasiliense) to replace the synthetic yellow dye tartrazine, by a high-performance extraction method using ionic liquids such as "green" extractors. Therefore, four ionic liquids will be tested, 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and 1-n-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride of commercial origin; and 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate synthesized in laboratory, so that the best two owns will be selected for the optimization of extraction using the technique of experimental planning and response surface. The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the carotenoid extracts obtained will be performed by HPLC-PAD-MS/MS. Subsequently, the carotenoid extract obtained under optimized conditions will be applied for the development of nanocapsules and bio-ink for 3D printing. These two systems will be evaluated for antioxidant activity, bioaccessibility and uptake in a cellular model (CACO2). The set of these results will allow defining if Pequi carotenoid extract can be presented as an alternative to the artificial yellow dye tartrazine. (AU)