Abstract:

Acetone extraction followed by n-butanol purification was applied for preparing high-purity lutein esters from marigold oil. The extraction and the purification conditions were optimized using L9(33) orthogonal array design. The optimal extraction conditions were as follows: with a ratio of material to liquid of 1:3 (m/V) stirring at 50 ℃ for 30 min for the dissolution of marigold oil in acetone, and then cooling for 3 h, and the optimal conditions of n-butanol treatment for purification with a ratio of material to liquid of 1:3.5(m/m) stirring for the dissolution of crude lutein esters concentrate in n-butanol, and then cooling for 4 h. After ethanol washing and vacuum drying, lutein esters with over 85% purity were obtained.

Key words: lutein esters, marigold oil, orthogonal test