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A Food-Grade Approach to Isolate Crocetin from Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Extracts

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Abstract

The present study proposes a food-grade approach for the isolation of the valuable apocarotenoid crocetin (CRT) from saffron extracts rich in crocetin esters. Its isolation involved optimization of saffron:solvent ratio (w/v) using response surface methodology (RSM) and encapsulation in deoxycholic acid (DCA) to form an inclusion complex (CRT-DCA). RP-HPLC-DAD was the major tool to monitor the effectiveness of the extraction process. The optimum ratio found (1:180 w/v) spares the precious starting material (yield 62.7 ± 2.5 g dry extract/100 g dry stigmas, CRT purity 98 %) and reduces the cost of the process. The successful formation of the complex was confirmed by an array of techniques such as Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Encapsulation efficiency (%) measured directly and indirectly was found to be satisfactory.

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Abbreviations

CRT:

Crocetin

CCD:

Central composite design

DCA:

Deoxycholic acid

RSM:

Response surface methodology

RP-HPLC-DAD:

Reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection

NMR:

Nuclear magnetic resonance

FT-IR:

Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy

KBr:

Potassium bromide

TGA:

Thermogravimetric analysis

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

WAXD:

Wide angle X-ray diffractometry

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Acknowledgments

A.K. thanks the Foundation of State Scholarships (IKY, Athens, Greece) for financial support and appreciates experience gained for the techniques applied in this study during training schools organized by COST Actions FA1101 and FA0906. Authors are indebted to Professor E. Tsatsaroni and Associate Professors D. Bikiaris and E. Pavlidou for access to AUTh instrumentation of their responsibility and scientific support.

Conflict of Interest

Anastasia Kyriakoudi declares that she has no conflict of interest. Maria Z. Tsimidou declares that she has no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology, School of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Anastasia Kyriakoudi & Maria Z. Tsimidou

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  1. Anastasia Kyriakoudi
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  2. Maria Z. Tsimidou
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Correspondence to Maria Z. Tsimidou.

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Kyriakoudi, A., Tsimidou, M.Z. A Food-Grade Approach to Isolate Crocetin from Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Extracts. Food Anal. Methods 8, 2261–2272 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-015-0111-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-015-0111-0

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