| Abstract: | Extraction of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and β-carotene) by supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) was tested to replace conventional liquid extraction methods, which require large volumes of organic solvents. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is a rapid extraction technique for fat-soluble vitamins enabling them to be accurately determined using only small volumes of organic solvents. Extractions were performed on ultra-high-temperature sterilized milk, milk powder, pork, liver paté (paté de fois), infant formula, and canned baby food to compare the methods. The proposed method is based on the extraction of fat-soluble vitamins and their esters by using SC-CO2 with methanol as a modifier. HPLC analysis using photometric detection was used for the vitamin analysis. The results showed no significant differences between extraction methods. The proposed SFF method appears to be useful as a substitute for the traditional organic solvent method, mainly for vitamin A and γ-tocopherol. Some data in this paper were presented at the 5th International Symposium on Supercritical Fluids, Atlanta, Georgia, April 2000. |
