Bixin extraction from annatto seed (Bixa orellana) using Ethyl acetate

Abstract: Bixins, a natural carotenoid pigment, extracted from annatto seed (Bixa orellana) has a great commercial application in food, textile, leather and pharmaceutical industries worldwide. In order to extract bixin from annatto seed, magnetic stirring of seeds weighing 4.2 g in ethyl acetate, evaporation and column chromatography of crude pigments using a mixture of ethyl acetate and dichloro methane (3:7) as eluent accompanied with 1H NMR, GC-MS, UV-spetrophotometric and Fluorescence spectroscopic analysis resulted that the crude solid extract contained 32.1% of bixin. This low per cent due to low performance of column extraction. Extraction methods will be explored cautiously for 100% pigment extraction and purificatio