Evaluating the Effectiveness of β-Carotene Extraction from Pulsed Electric Field-Treated Carrot Pomace Using Oil-in-Water Microemulsion

Thermodynamically stable microemulsions were used to extract β-carotene from pulsed electric field (PEF)-treated carrot pomace. In this study, a three-level Box–Behnken design was used to predict the effect of extraction time (10–110 min), extraction temperature (30–70 °C) and carrot/microemulsion ratio (1:30–1:90 w/w) on the β-carotene content, polydispersity index (PDI) and particle size of the microemulsions. The β-carotene extracted from PEF-treated carrot pomace using microemulsions was higher than untreated carrot pomace. The extraction efficiency of β-carotene using microemulsions was higher compared to 100 % hexane or 100 % glycerol monocaprylocaprate oil. A mathematical model was developed to predict the optimal extraction conditions using transparent microemulsions with high loading of β-carotene, low PDI and small microemulsion particle size. The model predicted that an extraction time of 49.4 min, temperature of 52.2 °C and carrot/microemulsion ratio of 1:70 (w/w) would result in microemulsions with β-carotene loading of 19.6 μg/g, PDI of 0.27 and particle size of 74 nm. This study demonstrates the potential of using oil-in-water microemulsions as extraction media for β-carotene.