Process for the extraction of carotenes from natural sources

摘要

Extn. of carotene dyes, esp. beta -carotene, from solid naturally-occurring materials with organic solvents, comprises extracting the starting material with a solvent mixt. of ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and/or butyl acetate (BuOAc) and 3-25 wt.% oil, w.r.t. the acetate, at 40-125 degrees C. Pref. the oil is of biological origin and is used in a concn. of 5-10 wt.%; and the extn. is carried out for 1-3 hrs. at 50-70 degrees C, using 3-5 pts. wt. solvent mixt. per pt. wt. starting material. The extn. residue is washed with 0.5-5 pts. wt. EtOAc and/or BuOAc.