Stability of Palm Carotenes in an Organic Solvent and in a Food Emulsion System

Palm carotene has potential as an application for a natural food colorant with bioactivity as pro-vitamin A and an antioxidant. However, during processing and storage, the palm carotene encounters excessive treatments. In this study, the stability of palm carotenes was observed in organic solvent and a food emulsion system in order to learn its molecular behavior, as well as to evaluate the color stability due to exposure to light and temperature. Spectroscopy and chromatography measurements proved the formation of cis isomers and even colorless compounds after the treatment of its acetonic solution at 90°C (11 h) or under excessive illumination (11,470 lux). An application of 0.050–0.500% concentrate of palm carotene into emulsion system gave diverse shades of yellowness, which remained without any obvious color difference (ΔE ≤ 2) after 28 days at 4°C (dark) or 8 days at 30°C under average illumination of most display racks at stores (2500 lux).