Resumen
- Actually by-products from lettuce and cabbage have not been properly used despite the fact that they are rich in bioactive compounds as lutein. It is known that lutein plays an important role in the prevention of degenerative diseases. Lutein, is recommended as a health supplement for the prevention of cancer and diseases related to retinal degeneration or to ameliorate the effects of degenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. The aim of this work was to extract lutein from a mix of dried cabbage and lettuce using supercritical fluid extraction with CO2 as solvent (SFE-CO2), under different combinations of pressure and temperature in order to determining the lutein yield, total yield and antioxidant capacity. Also the extraction kinetic of lutein from cabbage and lettuce is shown in this work. The best lutein yield was obtained at 350 bar and 65 °C, while the highest antioxidant capacity was at 400 bar and 85 °C.