Optimization of Enzyme-Assisted Lycopene Extraction from Tomato Processing Waste

We have investigated the recovery of lycopene from tomato processing waste (TPW) by treating the peel fraction of the waste with pectinolytic and cellulolytic enzyme preparations. To optimize the enzyme-assisted extraction, we used a two-level factorial design with five factors: extraction temperature (T), pretreatment time (P), extraction time (E), enzyme solution-to-solid ratio (R), enzyme load (L). A 7-to 16-fold increase was observed in lycopene recovery, compared to the untreated TPW. From a response surface analysis of the data, a second-degree polynomial equation was developed which provided the following optimal extraction conditions: T = 30 °C, P = 3.5 h, E = 3.2 h, R = 30 dm3/kg, L = 0.17 kg/kg.