Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction was used to extract carotenoids from dry paprika Capsicum annuum. Studies regarding the effect of process parameters, including pressure (25-45 MPa), temperature (40-60 °C), and time (10-110 min), were carried out using response surface methodology. It was found that under optimal conditions (pressure of 45 MPa, temperature of 50 °C, and time of 74 min), the extract yield was 10.05%, and the total content of carotenoids in the extract was 4.21%, in good agreement with the predicted values (10.24% and 4.24%, respectively). Composition analysis showed that paprika extract mainly consisted of linoleic acid. There was no significant difference between the fatty acid content of the extracts obtained by SC-CO2 extraction and n-hexane Soxhlet extraction. For functional purposes, the effect of storage conditions and time on the quality of paprika extract was also specified.
Keywords: carotenoids; dry red paprika; fatty acids; response surface methodology; supercritical carbon dioxide extraction.