Extraction And Isolation Of Lycopene From Solanum Lycopersicum And Citrullus Lanatus For Bioplastic Colouring

Lycopene is a carotenoid pigment and phytochemical found in tomatoes water melon and other fruits mostly red coloured. Due to its structure lycopene gives its deep red colour owing to its strong colour and non- toxic in nature. Lycopene is non-polar in nature due to which it stains any porous material including plastic. Lycopene diffuses into plastic making it difficult to remove with hot water or detergent. Since lycopene is insoluble in water but can be dissolved in organic solvent and oil. Extracting lycopene from natural source like tomato and watermelon which contains the highest amount of lycopene leads to a non-toxic colouring agent which can be used in bioplastic colouring. Identification of lycopene was carried out using UV-Visible spectrophotometer and HPLC. The lycopene content was found to be 5.50 and 11.1 mgkg fresh wt in tomato and watermelon respectively. The peaks of lycopene in UV-Visible spectrophotometer were found at 459 nm and 468 nm for tomato and watermelon respectively. HPLC of lycopene was carried out which showed the 26955Max at 473 nm for tomato and 471 nm for watermelon. The extracted lycopene was added while preparing the bioplastic as the colouring agent. Hence lycopene proves to be a potent biocolour for the bioplastic colouring.