A crystallisation protocol designed for the isolation of lycopene from tomato processing by-products

The antioxidant and anticancer properties of lycopene make it an excellent ingredient for daily food supplements. The present study developed a novel protocol based on crystallisation to produce lycopene of high purity from a complex extract obtained by n-hexane from tomato peel. The crystallisation process aimed to achieve a higher recovery and purity of lycopene. The crystallisation system was optimised using ethanol and n-hexane at a volume ratio of 0.8:1 after evaporating the extract to a solid concentration of 66%. The recovery of lycopene reached 78.45% with a purity of 96.12%. The combination of the two crystallisation methods used, antisolvent and evaporation crystallisation, removed most impurities from the lycopene crystals. This novel protocol thus proved to be effective for recovering lycopene from tomato waste. Crystallisation protocol for lycopene production.image