Enzymatic Assisted Treatments of Lycopene Extraction from Tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum) Peels using Rice Bran Oil

Although having the potential to prevent oxidation and cardiovascular diseases due to the substantial amount of lycopene it contains, the massive quantity of tomato peels is now solely discarded as a by-product of the processing industry. In the present study, the effects of enzymatic treatments on lycopene content extracted from tomato peels using rice bran oil were evaluated. A two-step protocol was followed: the tomato peels were treated with enzyme and then extracted with rice bran oil for 1 h at 25 °C and a solid percentage of 3.5%. Treatment factors investigated were Viscozyme L. concentrations (0.5–2.5 %), incubation time (30–150 min) and incubation temperatures (30–70 °C). Antioxidant capacity, peroxide value, acid value and color changes of the rich-pigmented oil product were analyzed. Under the best extraction conditions (Enzyme concentration = 2%; Incubation time = 90 min; Incubation temperature = 50 °C), the lycopene content was extracted up to 320 mg/100 g of dry weight. Results showed that using Viscozyme L. significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased the lycopene content in the pigmented oil product. These results suggested the idea of using a cell-wall degrading enzyme in the extraction to promote the use of tomato by-products as a rich source of lycopene and a good approach for waste utilization