The assessment of specially designed deep eutectic solvents in the recovery of β-carotene

The amount of food wasted exceeds 1 billion metric tons annually. These wastes are recognized as an important source for the recovery of bioactive compounds. There is a growing demand for antioxidants, nutraceuticals and natural colorants in the world. β-carotene fit this description and are widely used compounds. Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea) wastes, totaling over 2.5 million metric tons in a year, are rich in bioactive compounds and are suitable for the recovery of β-carotene. The aim of this research is to develop efficient processes for the recovery of β-carotene from pumpkin and spinach by combining environmentally friendly methods with deep eutectic solvents (DES), one of the solvent systems of the 21st century. In this thesis study; first, L-menthol was combined with some carboxylic acids (formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid butyric acid, (S)-lactic acid and citric acid monohydrate) to obtain a series of deep eutectic solvents (DES). Using these DESs, the recovery of β-carotene from pumpkin and spinach was carried out through environmentally friendly methods such as ultrasonically assisted extraction (UDE), mechanical stirring assisted extraction (MSDE) and homogenization assisted extraction (HDE). In each process, response surface methodology (RSM) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to investigate the effects of the applied process parameters on the process and to model the process based on the experimental results. According to the resulting mathematical models, process optimization was performed and the optimal process conditions were determined.