Obtaining bixin from semi-defatted annatto seeds by a mechanical method and solvent extraction: Process integration and economic evaluation.

This work involves the application of physical separation methods to concentrate the pigment of semi-defatted annatto seeds, a noble vegetal biomass rich in bixin pigments. Semi-defatted annatto seeds are the residue produced after the extraction of the lipid fraction from annatto seeds using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). Semi-defatted annatto seeds are use in this work due to three important reasons: i) previous lipid extraction is necessary to recovery the tocotrienol-rich oil present in the annatto seeds, ii) an initial removal of the oil via SFE process favors bixin separation and iii) the cost of raw material is null. Physical methods including i) the mechanical fractionation method and ii) an integrated process of mechanical fractionation method and low-pressure solvent extraction (LPSE) were studied. The integrated process was proposed for processing two different semi-defatted annatto materials denoted Batches 1 and 2. The cost of manufacture (COM) was calculated for two different production scales (5 and 50L) considering the integrated process vs. only the mechanical fractionation method. The integrated process showed a significantly higher COM than mechanical fractionation method. This work suggests that mechanical fractionation method is an adequate and low-cost process to obtain a rich-pigment product from semi-defatted annatto seeds.

Neighborhood socioeconomic status is associated with serum carotenoid concentrations in older, community-dwelling women.

A high dietary intake of fruit and vegetables has been shown to be protective for health. Neighborhood socioeconomic differences may influence the consumption of carotenoid-rich foods, as indicated by serum carotenoid concentrations. To test this hypothesis, we examined the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and serum carotenoid concentrations in a population-based sample of community-dwelling women, aged 70-79 y, who participated in the Women's Health and Aging Study II in Baltimore, Maryland. Neighborhood socioeconomic Z-scores were derived from characteristics of the census block of the participants. Serum carotenoid concentrations were measured at baseline and at 18, 36, 72, 98, and 108 mo follow-up visits. Neighborhood Z-scores were positively associated with serum α-carotene (P = 0.0006), ß-carotene (P = 0.07), ß-cryptoxanthin (P = 0.03), and lutein+zeaxanthin (P = 0.004) after adjusting for age, race, BMI, smoking, inflammation, and season. There was no significant association between neighborhood Z-score and serum lycopene. Older, community-dwelling women from neighborhoods with lower SES have lower serum carotenoid concentrations, which reflect a lower consumption of carotenoid-rich fresh fruits and vegetables.