Obtenção de extrato aquoso rico em Betalaínas a partir da beterraba (Beta Vulgaris L.) com o uso associado de microfiltração tangencial e concentração à vácuo

Abstract

The betalains are natural colorants present on plants of the chenopodiaceae family. Beetroot (Beta Vulgaris L.) is a rich source of betanin, a red-purple betalain. In the industrial environment, the use of natural colorants in production processes has increased, since the current synthetic colorants used in these processes have been undergone studies relating their intake to health problems, such as allergies. This work aims to promote the extraction of the beetroot colorant principle through the use of a tangential microfiltration process and a vacuum concentration, in an associated way. The experiments to obtain this colorant were conducted at the Laboratory of Agroindustrial Processes of Embrapa. Cleaning, selection and autoclaving steps were used to obtain microorganism’s free vegetables. Pulping process was also used to obtain a crude beet extract. In order for this extract to be worked in a microfiltration process, pre filtration was carried out on a nylon filter (pore diameter of 100 μm). The tangential microfiltration occurred in pilot plants containing 0.2 μm pore diameter aluminum oxide membranes, from which a beet permeate product containing betalains was obtained. Finally, the permeate from the microfiltration process was concentrated in a rotary evaporator, giving rise to a concentrated beet extract rich in betalains. In order to test the use of the colorant produced, a study of the color of acerola juices was carried out. Industrially the pasteurizing process of this juice provides loss of the natural red color to a yellowish color, thus, the addition of colorant sought to reduce or correct this loss of coloration. The results demonstrated the presence of betanin in the colorant produced, in approximately 560 mg / 100g of extract. It was also observed the effective use of the colorant produced in the correction of the acerola juice coloration after the process of heating it.