JPH0480665B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to pigments and aims to industrially advantageously obtain food pigments of excellent quality.

Food coloring is divided into two types: water-soluble and oil-soluble. This invention relates to the latter, that is, lipophilic dyes.

Methods for obtaining lipophilic pigments include oil extraction methods and steam distillation methods, but each method has serious drawbacks. Disadvantages include, for example, low product yields, low contaminant removal rates, and sometimes changes in the target pigment, among others.
The main causes of this seem to be that the temperature used is too high or the processing time is long. This invention is
This invention is free from these drawbacks and will be described below.

The target dye raw materials are generally those containing lipophilic dyes. Examples of such pigments include carotenoids, diketones, porphyrins, and others. As such,
Plant seeds, leaves, pods, roots, fish and shellfish, etc.
These can be treated singly or in combination.

Next, the process of obtaining the dye will be explained.

A raw material containing a lipophilic pigment, for example, a raw material such as annatto or paprika containing carotenoids is prepared, and an oil agent capable of dissolving and retaining these pigments, such as hexane, acetone, or refined coconut oil, is prepared. One or more selected species are brought into contact to create a homogeneous mixed system, and the pigments in the raw materials are transferred into the oil agent. This process takes place in an extraction tank. Carbon dioxide, ethylene, propane, etc. are press-fitted into this,
This is brought to a state above the critical temperature and pressure. In this way, since the oil containing the pigment is transferred to the extraction phase, this extraction phase is introduced into a separation tank, and the extracted components are separated from the extractant such as carbon dioxide gas by reducing the pressure or changing the temperature. In this way, an oil agent that dissolves and retains the pigment can be obtained. At this time, if a product with a high pigment concentration is required among the obtained products, the amount of the oil agent used may be reduced or the conditions in the separation tank may be adjusted to separate and remove a portion of the added oil agent. Furthermore, most of the off-taste and odor components in the raw materials are substances with boiling points lower than the boiling point of the oil, so they are not contained in the oil that dissolves and retains the pigment, but are present in the gas phase of the separation tank. . In addition, proteins, starches, fibers, etc. are not extracted and remain in the extraction tank. The paste-like or liquid material produced in the separation tank is the object of this invention. Here, the invention has achieved its purpose.

Some of the functions and effects of this invention will be explained below. The obtained dye has a high yield and has almost no discoloration. This is because the treatment can be performed at a temperature below the discoloration temperature of the dye. Since the oil and extractant can be used repeatedly, the rate of wear and tear is extremely low. The manufacturing process is simple.

This invention will be explained below by way of examples.

Example 1 500 g of carrot oleorangein was prepared, and this and refined coconut oil were charged into an extraction tank to create a homogeneous mixing system, and the pigment in the raw material was eluted into the refined coconut oil. Next, carbon dioxide gas was injected and external heating was performed to bring the inside of the extraction tank into a supercritical state. From the extraction tank, the volatile components, fats and oils in the raw materials were transferred to the separation tank as the extraction phase, and fibers, starch, and proteins remained inside the extraction tank. When the separation tank was depressurized, a colored liquid oil layer was produced. The liquid oil layer was taken out from the tank to obtain 2.50 g of coconut oil solution. This dye solution was left indoors for three months, but there was no strange taste or odor, and no discoloration occurred.

Example 2 Crude tomato powder 1Kg (contains 180mg% lycopene)
and hexane 2 are charged into an extraction tank to create a homogeneous mixed system, and the pigment in the raw material is eluted into hexane.
Then, supercritical carbon dioxide gas was brought into contact. The conditions at this time were 35-50° C./300 Kg/cm ² , and the dye was recovered by a reduced pressure method. The separation tank contains approx.
200 g of purified lycopene pigment (containing 1370 mg% lycopene) was obtained.

The obtained lycopene had almost no odor and exhibited a very vivid orange color when colored into oil. Furthermore, this lycopene did not develop any strange taste or odor and did not change color after being left at 15°C for one month.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A raw material containing lipophilic and non-hydrophilic food coloring,
Bringing into contact with an oil agent, the pigment in the raw material is transferred into the oil agent to form a homogeneous system, and at least one selected from carbon dioxide gas, ethylene, or propane is added to this, and the mixture is brought into a supercritical state for extraction. A method for producing lipophilic food coloring, which is characterized by separating a coloring component from an extraction phase. 2 The food coloring is carotenoid-based, diketone-based,
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the porphyrin is at least one selected from the group consisting of porphyrins. 3. The production method according to claim 1, wherein the oil agent is at least one selected from the group consisting of hexane, acetone, and refined coconut oil.