Isoprenoid, lipid, and protein contents in intact plastids isolated from mesocarp cells of traditional and high-pigment tomato cultivars at different ripening stages.

This study reports quali-quantitative analyses on isoprenoids, phospholipids, neutral lipids, phytosterols, and proteins in purified plastids isolated from fresh fruits of traditional (Donald and Incas) and high-pigment (Kalvert and HLY-18) tomato cultivars at four ripening stages. In all of the investigated cultivars, lycopene, ß-catotene, lutein, and total carotenoids varied significantly during ripening. Chromoplasts of red-ripe tomato fruits of high-pigment cultivars accumulated twice as much as lycopene (307.6 and 319.2 µg/mg of plastid proteins in Kalvert and HLY-18, respectively) than ordinary cultivars (178.6 and 151.7 µg/mg of plastid proteins in Donald and Incas, respectively); differences in chlorophyll and α-tocopherol contents were also evidenced. Phospholipids and phytosterols increased during ripening, whereas triglycerides showed a general decrease. Regardless of the stage of ripening, palmitic acid was the major fatty acid in all cultivars (ranging from 35 to 52% of the total fatty acids), followed by stearic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, and myristic acids, but their relative percentage was affected by ripening. Most of the bands detected on the SDS-PAGEs of plastid proteins were constantly present during chloroplast-to-chromoplast conversion, some others disappeared, and only one, with a molecular weight of ~41.6 kDa, was found to increase in intensity.

Optimisation of biological and physical parameters for lycopene supercritical CO2 extraction from ordinary and high-pigment tomato cultivars.

BACKGROUND: Lycopene is used for several industrial applications. Supercritical CO(2) (SC-CO(2)) extraction from red-ripe tomato fruits is an excellent technique to replace the use of harmful solvents. In this study, starting from red-ripe tomatoes of ordinary and high-lycopene cultivars, the effect of different agronomical and technical aspects on lycopene content, stability and yield was evaluated throughout the production process from fresh tomatoes to the final SC-CO(2)-extracted oleoresin containing lycopene. RESULTS: Red-ripe tomato cultivars differed in their lycopene content. Irrigation excess or deficit caused an increase in the amount of lycopene in the fruits. Fresh tomatoes were processed into a lyophilised matrix suitable for SC-CO(2) extraction, which could be stored for more than 6 months at -20 degrees C without lycopene loss. Under the optimal extraction conditions, efficiencies of up to 80% were achieved, but the recovery of lycopene in the extracted oleoresin was very low (approximately 24%). Co-extraction of the tomato matrix mixed with a lipid co-matrix allowed the recovery of approximately 90% of lycopene in the oleoresin. Using the high-lycopene cultivars, the yield of total extracted lycopene increased by approximately 60% with respect to the ordinary cultivars. Lipids and other biologically active molecules were present in the oleoresin. CONCLUSION: A method for extracting, from a tomato matrix, a natural and solvent-free oleoresin containing lycopene dissolved in a highly unsaturated vegetable oil has been described. The oleoresin represents an excellent product for testing on cancer and cardiovascular disease prevention.