title: Fucoxanthin from Undaria pinnatifida: photostability and coextractive effects.
abstract: Fucoxanthin is one of the most abundant carotenoids and possesses a number of beneficial medicinal qualities which include its anti-oxidant, anti-obesity and anti-cancer properties. In this study, the photostability of fucoxanthin in extracts with different chemical profiles was studied. The extracts were obtained from Undaria pinnatifida, a seaweed rich in this carotenoid, using conventional liquid solvent extraction procedures and the QuEChERS method. All the extracts contained all-trans-fucoxanthin as the major compound. Conventional procedures produced a fucoxanthin purity of lower than 50%, whereas after liquid-liquid partition, PSA cleanup, and PSA and GCB cleanup (QuEChERS method) fucoxanthin purity increased to 70%, 86%, and 94%, respectively. Although in the acetone extract the initial content of fucoxanthin was the highest, results demonstrate that coextractives play an important role in enhancing the rate of photodegradation. After light exposure, the conventional extracts lost around 90% of the initial fucoxanthin content. On the other hand, the extracts obtained by the QuEChERS method showed significantly higher light stability than the conventional extracts. These results suggest that the QuEChERS method could be used and further improved to obtain more purified and stable extracts for fucoxanthin from U. pinnatifida.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, Padova 35131, Italy. anna.piovan@unipd.it
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piovan
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seraglia
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bresin
authors.forename: Rosy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caniato
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Filippini
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D044648:Undaria / Q000737:chemistry*; D024341:Xanthophylls / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D024341:Xanthophylls; C025164:fucoxanthin