Title of Invention

A PROCESS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF BETA-CAROTENE FROM VEGETABLE OILS

Abstract

A process for the extraction of beta-carotene from vegetable oils The present invention relates to a process for the extraction of beta-carotene from vegetable oils. Further, the process of the present invention uses only organic solvents at room temperature and pressure, thereby avoiding any loss during the course of recovery in contrast to the existing protocols. The process is a nondestructive physical process and isolates beta-carotene in the purest form with a yield as high as 98%.

Full Text

The present invention relates to a process for the Extraction of p-Carotene from Vegetable Oils. Carotenoids are a group of over 600 naturally occurring plant pigments that provide the yellow, orange and red colours seen in many fruits and vegetables. ß-carotene, can be converted into two identical molecules of retinal or vitamin A, by the enzyme ß -carotene 15, 15'-dioxygenase. Most carotenoids are devoid of vitamin A activity, like lycopene and oxygenated carotenoids. The carotenoids have two major characteristic features one, that it contains 9 conjugated double bonds which gives the carotenoids the characteristic colour and the second, the end group i.e. (3 -ionone ring which gives it the pro-vitamin A character. Carotenoids are the primary source of vitamin A. Vitamin A, plays an important role in regulating vision growth and reproduction. It is essential for the normal cellular differentiation of most epithilia, including those of skin, bronchi and trachea, stomach, intestine, uterus, kidney and other organs. Carotenoids have also been found to protect from cardiovascular diseases, muscular degeneration and photosensitive diseases, ß -carotene also enables immune cells to act more efficiently. Crude palm oil is one of the richest plant sources of carotenoids among vegetable oils with the concentration of 500-700 ppm. Analysis shows that alpha and beta carotene constitute approximately 90% of the total carotenoid content and the rest are delta carotene, gamma carotene, phytofluene, phytoene, zea carotene, lycopene, neurosporene, alpha and beta zeacarotenes. The production of palm oil from Malaysi was around 8 million tones during 2000. hence, the potential availability of carotenes in the year 2000 was about 4800 tonnes. The main object of the present invention is to provide a process for the extraction of beta-carotene from vegetable oils which obviates the drawbacks as detailed above. Another object of the present invention is to isolate beta-carotene from oil fractions like palm stearin and high acid red palm oil, which are non-edible and go for soap and fatty acid manufacture wherein the beta-carotene gets totally destroyed. Still another object of the present invention is to provide the resultant fatty acids portion after isolation of beta-carotene for soap and fatty acid manufacture. Yet another object of the present invention is to use organic solvents in pure or mixed from, which is non-destructive to isolate beta-carotene. Yet another object of the present invention is not to use drastic methods like distillation for the recovery of heat sensitive beta-carotene. Accordingly, the present invention provides process for the extraction of beta-carotene from vegetable oils which comprises: [a] mixing high acid red palm oil and palm stearin in a ratio of 1:1 to 1:2 and refluxing with 20 to 40% of alcoholic solution of potassium hydroxide at a temperature of 65 to 85 degree Centigrade for 60 to 90 minutes to obtain a reaction mixture; [b] removing alcohol from the reaction mixture of step [a] and diluting with 75 to 150 ml of distilled water; [c] extracting the diluted mixture of step [b] with a mixture of acetone and benzene in the ratio of 50 : 50 to 85 : 10 v/v respectively in incremental volumes for 5 to 8 times to obtain aqueous layer and organic layer, wherein the organic layer yields beta-carotene. Reference may be made to Mueller-Mulot W, Analysis of carotenes in crude palm oil, Fette, Siefen, Anstrichmittel 78: (1) 18-22 (1975) wherein the structure, properties and behaviour towards adsorbents of natural carotenes are discussed. The development of column chromatographic separation method is outlined and a proposed method for qualitative determination of total, alpha and beta carotenes in fats and oils described. It involves isolation of unsaponifiable in n-hexane, clean up on neutral A^Os column (recovery of total carotenes 93%), separation on MgO-Hyflo super Gel 1:1 column (recovery of alpha and beta carotene 96.5%) and determination at 450 nm (alpha) and 455 nm (beta). The application of the method to samples of palm oil together with free fatty acids and peroxide numbers is tabulated. The drawbacks are that total unsaponifiable matter including sterols and other hydrocarbons have been separated from the soap stock along with carotenes. The total unsaponifiable matter is further passed through the Alumina and magnesium oxide columns to obtain alpha and Beta carotene. However in present invention alpha and (3 -carotenes are isolated directly from the oil by the help of a solvent mixture in a fixed ratio. Hence, avoiding all other contaminants and not employing adsorbent columns for separation purposes, thereby reducing the losses. Reference may be made to Franzke-C, Grunert - K.S., and Kroschel-H, Studies on the behaviour of fat constituents during refining-lll. Isolation, concentration and determination of carotenoid and chlorophyll pigments in colza oils differing in the degree of refining, Nahrung 16:(8)873-890 (1972), wherein an oil free procedure for isolation and concentration of pigments from mucilage-free and deacidified rapeseed oil is described; the procedure is based on phase separation and isolation by column chromatography on basic alumina. The carotenoid, carotene and chlorophyll contents are then determined photometrically. The method was used to determine the pigment content of raw and refined oils; the results were compared with the Iodine value of the oil. Raw oil contained 40-70 ppm carotenoids, 3.5-5.0 ppm carotenes and 10-50 ppm chlorophyll. Corresponding value for refined oil were 0.3-0.7, 0 and 0-0.4 ppm respectively. The drawback of the refered method is that here total pigments are isolated by phase separation in conjunction with column chromatography and determination is done photometrically at different A max. It is more of a estimation procedure than separation as is depicted in present invention where p -carotene is isolated in pure form by an organic solvent mixture. Reference may be made to Heidlas, et al., Process for the extraction of natural carotenoid dyes, United States Patent 5, 789, 647, wherein A process for the extraction of carotenoid dyes from pre-dried natural starting materials is described using compressed gases such as propane and / or butane in which organic entraining agents can be additionally added in order to facilitate and complete the extraction process. With the aid of this process highly concentrated carotenoid dyes are obtained in high yield. The drawbacks of this process are that it did not reveal the material from where carotenoids have been isolated. More over it is a compressed gas extraction which is economically not viable as the solvents extraction at RTP as given in present invention. Reference may be made to O.C. Keat, Process for recovery and concentration of palm carotenoids, Palm Oil Technology Bulletin, March April 2000, Page No.7, wherein the trans esterification is carried out under mild conditions to retain as much as possible, the carotenes, Vitamin E and other minor components from crude palm oil The carotene content of esters is about 600 ppm. The reaction also produces glycerol, a co-product that can be easily separated and sold. The esters are removed using short path distillation under vacuum (10-20 m Torr) and a temperature of 160-180°C. The bulk of the esters are removed leaving the carotenes ( The main object of the present invention is to provide a process for the extraction of beta-carotene from vegetable oils which obviates the drawbacks as detailed above. Another object of the present invention is to isolate beta-carotene from oil fractions like palm stearin and high acid red palm oil, which are non-edible and go for soap and fatty acid manufacture wherein the beta-carotene gets totally destroyed. Still another object of the present invention is to provide the resultant fatty acids portion after isolation of beta-carotene for soap and fatty acid manufacture. Yet another object of the present invention is to use organic solvents in pure or mixed from, which is non-destructive to isolate beta-carotene. Yet another object of the present invention is not to use drastic methods like distillation for the recovery of heat sensitive beta-carotene. Accordingly, the present invention provides process for the extraction of beta-carotene from vegetable oils which comprises: [a] mixing high acid red palm oil and palm stearin in a ratio of 1:1 to 1:2 and refluxing with 20 to 40% of alcoholic solution of potassium hydroxide at a temperature of 65 to 85 degree C for 60 to 90 minutes to obtain a reaction mixture; [b] removing alcohol from the reaction mixture of step [a] and diluting with 75 to 150 ml of distilled water; [c] extracting the diluted mixture of step [b] with a mixture of acetone and benzene in the ratio of 50 : 50 to 85 : 10 v/v respectively in incremental volumes for 5 to 8 times to obtain aqueous layer and organic layer, wherein the organic layer yields beta-carotene. Various analytical methods have been used by various workers for the determination of carotenoid profile of palm oil. Column chromatography has been used in earlier studies using different adsorbents along with HPLC. Numerous extraction methods have been developed to recover the carotenoids from crude palm oil (Table-1). Most of the reported methods are difficult, costly and inefficient. TABLE-1 CAROTENOID CONCENTRATES FROM VARIOUS METHODS * through methyl ester rout Total carotenoids estimated at 440 nm (Table removed) However, a process for the concentration and recovery of carotenoids via alkyl ester of palm oil has also been developed where volatile palm oil methyl esters have been prepared on a large scale as an oleo-chemical or diesel substitute. This process of conversion of crude palm oil into methyl esters involves drastic reaction condition where valuable minor components, such as carotenoids and vitamin-E are modified up to certain extent. The first stage of process involves distillation step including molecular distillation of alkyl esters. The second stage involves column chromatography with an adsorbent to give a carotene fraction. A process has also been developed by PORIM to produce deacidified and deodorized red palm oil from the degummed palm oil with more than 80% of the original carotenes still intact. This red palm oil is of similar excellent quality to the refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm oil that normally contains no carotene. Table-2 shows carotene composition of Red Palm Oil and Crude Palm Oil. TABLE-2 CAROTENE COMPOSITION (%) OF DEACIDIFIED AND DEODOR IZED RED PALM OIL AND CRUDE PALM OI (Table Removed) The process involves two stages i.e. pretreatment of the crude palm oil followed by deodorization and deacidification by molecular distillation. The pretreatment is carried out in a conventional manner using phosphoric acid followed by bleaching earth. This allows impurities and oxidative products in the crude oil to be removed. The deodorization and deacidification is carried out using molecular distillation at temperature 165°C and pressure 10-3 Torr. This process also degrades P-carotene up to 20%. TABLE-3 QUALITY PARAMETERS OF RED PALM OIL (Table Removed) Unitata has also developed a process to produce carotene enriched red palm oil. This is a chemical process which involves chemical neutralization of the free fatty acids, followed by pretreatment, then deodorization using conventional method to remove the odor. The quality of oil obtained was similar to RBD palm oil containing not less than 250 ppm carotene. This product is traded by name NUTROLEIN. So, the process already available for isolation of carotene from palm oil can be summarized as tedious and less effective. The protocol developed in the present invention (Fig.1) depends upon the treatment of the oil with alcoholic solution of a base which breaks down the triglycerides and forms sodium/potassium salts of fatty acids without affecting the carotenoids. The fatty acid salts are highly soluble in aqueous medium and insoluble in organic solvents. Therefore aqueous solution of fatty acids salt which also contains carotenoids as minor component subjected for extraction with various organic solvents which can preferentially extract p-carotene and leave behind other components. As p-carotene is a non-polar moiety it will be soluble in non polar solvents like hexane, petroleum ether, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, their use for extraction of (3-carotene in presence of aqueous medium is ineffective due to highly polar nature (immisibility) of water. Therefore these solvents alone could not give a better extraction efficacy of (3-carotene. Hence, another solvent which is polar in nature like acetone, diethyl ether were chosen to be mixed with the non-polar solvents to make a solvent mixture which can penetrate in the aqueous phase. The polar solvent will mix with aqueous phase carrying along the non-polar solvent which will extract (3-carotene preferentially and separate out of aqueous phase, leaving behind other components. This total extraction process depends upon the solubility of p-carotene and partition coefficient factor. A particular organic compound distributes itself between two phases based on its partition coefficient. Therefore search for solvent was done in such a way that P-carotene completely comes in the organic solvent leaving behind the aqueous phase. Contrary to the extraction process developed by us, in other processes like distillation, vacuum distillation, and molecular distillation, the relatively low boiling component i.e. fatty acid methyl esters (which forms 99% of the total mass) has to be distilled at high temperature such as 27CTC and low pressure of 5-10 mm on Hg for a considerable period of time. During the course of distillation good amount (20-30%) of carotene is degraded or modified, therefore recovery is never complete. Hence, present invention is novel in the sense that it provides a 100% recovery of p-carotene in pure form at much milder condition with less energy requirement compare to other processes where carotene concentrate is recovered after substantial loss at agrevated conditions. High Acid Red palm oil/ Palm stearin I Fatty acids salts Extraction with solvent mixture -> Fatty Acids solution i Carotene concentrate Detergents Softner Soap Toiletries Cosmetics Chromatographic purification (3-carotene Fig.1: p -carotene isolation from vegetable oils. The novelty of the present invention is that (3-carotene in the pure form is isolated, for the first time, from vegetable oils, in particular from red palm oil and palm stearin, which are non edible and goes for soap manufacture, in totally intact form without any loss during the course of isolation making use of organic solvents in place of distillation and chromatography, to isolate (3-carotene, which has no damaging effect on the p-carotene and also on fat portion. The present invention is novel in the sense that drastic conditions are not involved at any stage. The following examples are given by way of illustrations of the present invention and therefore should not be constructed to limit the scope of the present invention. EXAMPLE-1 Palm stearin (5 gm) was taken in a round bottom flask and added 2 gms of sodium hydroxide in 25 ml of ethyl alcohol. The content mixed thoroughly and refluxed over a boiling water bath for a period of one hour. Subsequently the alcohol was recovered from the reaction flask and fatty acid salts were dissolved in 75 ml of water in a separating funnel. This alkaline solution was extracted with hexane 25 ml x 4 times, in a bid to extract carotene, but with no success. Carotene did not come in the hexane layer. The aqueous phase after extraction was decomposed by diluted aqueous hydrochloric acid to liberate fatty acids. The completion of decomposition was ascertained by litmus turning blue to red due to excess HCI. The liberated fatty acids were extracted by diethyl ether and worked up to obtain neat mixed fatty acids as byproduct. EXAMPLE-2 Ten grams of palm stearin was taken in a 100 ml capacity round bottom flask and added sodium hydroxide solution (4 gm NaOH dissolved in 1 ml of water and diluted to 25 ml of ethanol). The flask was heated over boiling water bath for about an hour and later alcohol was removed from reaction flask while heating. The salt solution was dissolved in 100 ml of water and mixture extracted with 25 ml x 4 times of diethyl ether. Traces of carotene (may be oxygenated carotene) came in the ether layer, but bulk remained with the aqueous phase. The same experiment was repeated but the extraction solvent was changed to benzene. Benzene 25 ml x 4 was used to extract the carotene, but this solvent also could not extract carotene from the aqueous phase hence, discarded. EXAMPLE-3 Solid portion of palm oil (palm stearin) and red palm oil 5 gm each were taken in 50 ml capacity round bottom flask separately and added potassium hydroxide solution (2g KOH dissolved in 25 ml of alcohol). The flasks with the reaction mixture were heated over hot water bath for one hour. Subsequently alcohol was recovered and water 75 ml each was added separately. The salt solution was extracted with acetone : benzene 50:50 v/v 25 ml x 4 times. An appreciable amount of carotene came into the solvent phase which was pooled together washed with water and dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate. The solvent was recovered to obtain crude carotene extract. The aqueous salt solutions were taken in two different separating funnels and added cone. HCI 10 ml each to liberate fatty acids, the medium was made acidic and ascertained by litmus paper/pH paper. The precipitated fatty acids were extracted with diethyl ether, which was washed, dried and solvent removed to obtain fatty acids in native form. EXAMPLE-4 Red palm oil 10 gm and palm stearin 5 gm were taken in two different round bottom flasks separately and added potassium hydroxide solution in alcohol (40% KOH with reference to fat). The reaction mixture was refluxed over hot water bath for about an hour. Subsequently alcohol was removed on the water bath and residue dissolved in 75 ml of distilled water separately and solutions were extracted with solvent mixture acetone : benzene 75:25 v/v, 50 ml x 6 times. Very good amount of carotene came into the solvent phase leaving behind a pale yellow fatty acid aqueous layer. The solvent was pooled together and worked up as usual to obtain neat carotene concentrate. % crude carotene extract obtained from palm stearin = 0.4 = 4000 ppm % crude carotene extract obtained from red palm oil = 0.39 = 3900 ppm Thin layer chromatography of crude carotene extracts obtained from red palm oil and palm stearin fraction. Thin layer chromatographic plates 20 x 20 cm were prepared using silica gel G. of thickness 0.5 mm. The plates were air dried and activated at 11OC for 40 mts before use. The 1% hexane solution of crude carotene extract obtained from red palm oil and palm stearin were spotted on TLC plate. The plate was developed in solvent system Pet. ether : ether 75:25 v/v and solvent front allowed to move a distance of 10 cms. After development, plate was removed from the tank, air dried and visualized first by naked eyes and then under Iodine vapours. Rf values for various spots were as follows: Five spots were observed at Rf 0.96, 0.83, 0.58, 0.36 and 0.21 for the red palm oil and palm stearin. While spot at Rf 0.96 corresponded with the spot of (3-carotene the remaining were of other components like a-carotene tocopherols, sterols and terpenes. (3-carotene spot could be seen as a dark yellow spot by naked eyes just after development whereas other spots were visualized only after exposing to Iodine vapours. Isolation experiments with other ratios like acetone:benzene, 60:40 and 85:15 v/v have also been conducted following above protocol. EXAMPLE-5 Red palm oil 20.5 gms and palm stearin 25.0 gm were taken in two different 250 ml capacity round bottom flasks and added alcoholic solution of potassium hydroxide 50 ml (40% KOH with respect to fat). The mixture was mixed thoroughly and heated at boiling water bath for 90 mts each and subsequently alcohol was removed under stream of nitrogen. The residue thus obtained was dissolved in 125 ml of distilled water in separating funnels. These solutions were extracted with acetone : benzene 50 ml x 10 times as before. The solvent extract was pooled together washed and dried over sodium sulphate anhydrous and solvent removed to recover the carotene concentrate separately. % crude carotene extract obtained from red palm oil = 0.35 % crude carotene extract obtained from palm stearin = 0.25 The aqueous salt solutions were taken in two different separating funnels and added cone. HCI 35 ml each to liberate fatty acids, the medium was made acidic and checked by pH paper. The precipitated fatty acids were extracted with diethyl ether, which was washed, dried and solvent removed to obtain mixed fatty acids. The experiment was repeated as above with 50 gms of mustard oil which was saporified with 50 ml of 40% KOH. The alcohol from the medium was removed under vacuum. The residue dissolved in 125 ml of water in a separating funnel. The solution was extracted with acetone : benzene in the prescribed ratio for five times. The extract thus obtained was washed, dried and solvent evaporated under vacuum, yielded crude carotenoids extract up to 0.05%. Purification and enrichment of (3-carotene from carotene extract obtained from red palm oil and palm stearin Silica gel for column chromatography (40 gm) was packed, with the help of Pet. ether 75 ml, in a glass column length 45 cm and diameter 1.75 cm. Another column of similar type was also prepared. The raw carotenoid extract obtained as above were loaded on these columns with the help of petroleum ether 10 ml each separately. The I, II, III and IV fractions were collected from these columns using pure petroleum ether 200 ml, petroleum ether : diethyl ether 90:10 v/v, 125 ml, pet. ether: diethyl ether 85:15 v/v 100 ml and pure diethyl ether 200 ml respectively. The solvents were removed under vacuum to recover the material. Fraction I and III did not yield any material hence, discarded. Thin-layer chromatographv of Fraction II and IV obtained from red palm oil and palm stearin. Fraction II and Fractions IV obtained from red palm oil and palm stearin obtained after purification and enrichment of p-carotene from carotene extracts and total carotene extracts along with standard (3-carotene obtained from sigma chem.. were taken for thin-layer chromatography check. TLC plates were prepared as described in example-4. solvent system used for development of plates were Pet. ether : diethyl ether 75:25 v/v. One percent hexane solution of fraction II, IV, ; total carotenoid extract and standard p-carotene were spotted on preactivated TLC plate before development. After development, P-carotene gave yellow spot at Rf. 0.96 for standard p-carotene, Fraction II and total carotene extract. However spots at Rf 0.83, 0.58, 0.36 and 0.20 obtained after exposing the plate in Iodine chamber for other associated components were observed for fraction IV and total carotene extract. Therefore it can be concluded that fraction II is P-carotene as it compared with standard reference P-carotene and Fraction IV is the conglomeration of the rest of the components. Thin-layer chromatography of 3-carotene and mixed fatty acids obtained from red palm oil and palm stearin P -carotene and mixed fatty acids obtained from red palm oil and palm stearin as given in example-5 were taken. One percent solution of isolated P -carotene and standard p -carotene were prepared in acetone and 1 % solution of mixed fatty acids (MEA) were prepared in diethyl ether, which were spotted on TLC plate prepared as described in example-4. Plate was developed in solvent system hexane : diethyl ether 75:25 v/v and solvent front was allowed to move for a distance of 13 cms. After development A: P-carotene from red palm oil; B: P-carotene from palm stearin; C; reference standard P-carotene gave yellow spot at Rf 0.96 as single spot. However, after exposure to iodine vapour these P-carotene spots became darker in colour in addition mixed fatty acids from red palm oil (D) and from palm stearin (E) gave dark brown spot at Rf 0.53 as single spot, p -carotene spot was missing in Mixed fatty acids samples and MFA spot was missing in P-carotene samples confirming no contamination either way. The TLC picture is given as Fig.2. EXAMPLE-6 Palm stearin and red palm oil, 50 gm each, were taken for experiment. The extraction, purification and enrichment were carried out as given in example-5. The purity of p-carotene was checked by TLC which compared well with reference standard. UV-Visible spectrum of standard and isolated 3-carotenes Reference standard (3-carotene obtained from sigma chemicals, total carotenoid extract from palm stearin (Batch-1) and red palm oil (Batch-2) fraction II and fraction IV obtained after purification and enrichment (fractionation) of total extract have been used for UV-Visible spectrophotometry. Solutions were made as follows: Solution were prepared using spectroscopic grade hexane. Reference standard (3-carotene 10 mg dissolved in 5 ml, 1 ml solution made up to 10 ml; Batch-1 total extract 31 mg dissolved in 10 ml, 0.1 ml made up to 10 ml; Fraction II 17 mg dissolved in 10 ml, 0.1 ml made up to 10 ml and fraction IV 11 mg dissolved in 10 ml, 1 ml made up to 10 ml Batch 2 total extract 25 mg dissolved in 10 ml, 0.1 ml made to 10 ml; Fraction II 6 mg dissolved in 10 ml, 0.1 ml made up to 10 ml; and fraction IV 15 mg dissolved in 10 ml, 1 ml made up to 10 ml. The diluted solutions were taken for spectral analysis. Hexane solution of reference standard (3-carotene, when subjected to UV-Visible spectral analysis gave absorption maxima at A,max 423, 448 and 476 nm comparing very well with the reported value as illustrated in the methods of Vitamin assay, The Association of Vitamin Chemists Inc., Myer Freed, Chairman, Method Committee, Interscience Publishers, 1966, London, 3rd Edn., pp 101. In addition three other maxima of very low intensity were observed of Arnax, 200, 270 and 335 nm may be due to contamination of artifacts like Vitamin A etc. UV-Visible spectrum of II fraction obtained from Batch 1 and 2 experiments (B&C) were found to be completely super-imposible to the spectrum of standard p-carotene (A) (Fig.3). However spectrum for fraction IV did not show any absorbance in the (3-carotene region. These observations were completely in agreement with the TLC data, which showed that II fraction isolated from palm stearin and red palm oil were pure p-carotene. EXAMPLE-7 Melting point determination of 3-carotene recovered from palm stearin, red palm oil and reference standard from Sigma chem.. Thiele tube was used to determine the melting point. Thiele tube was filled with high density liquid paraffin up to 2/3rd portion. A thermometer, range 0-360C, was lowered with the help of a rubber cork, P-carotene obtained from palm stearin, red palm oil obtained after column purification and enrichment and standard p-carotene were packed in three different melting point capillaries length 4", diameter 1 mm and one end fused. Capillaries were hanged along with thermometer one by one, and liquid heated by Bunson burner. The temperature at which solid melted to liquid was noted as melting point. Melting point of recovered p-carotene = 176°C Melting point of standard p-carotene = 178°C Hence, it can be concluded that (3-carotene can be isolated/recovered from vegetable oils in a highly pure form by degradation of fat and its subsequent solvent extraction Purification / enrichment by column chromatography yielded a fraction using hexane/pet.ether and diethyl ether found to be (3-carotene in pure form as has been confirmed by TLC, melting point and UV-Visible spectroscopy. The main advantage of the present invention are: 1. An extraction process for 3-carotene from vegetable oils has been given which uses only organic solvents at room temperature and pressure, thereby avoiding any loss during the course of recovery in contrast to the existing protocols. 2. The (3-carotene isolated is in the purest form, no further purification needed before it can go for commercial purpose. 3. The process is simple and short and it does not require an expensive deodorizer and distillation apparatus. 4. It is a non-destructive physical process. 5. Fat portion recovered as fatty acids can directly go to soap, detergent and cosmetics manufacture. 6. Fat portion need not to undergo another chemical reaction to yield fatty acids. We claim: 1. A process for the extraction of beta-carotene from vegetable oils which comprises: [a] mixing high acid red palm oil and palm stearin in a ratio of 1:1 to 1:2 and refluxing with 20 to 40% of alcoholic solution of potassium hydroxide at a temperature of 65 to 85 degree Centigrade for 60 to 90 minutes to obtain a reaction mixture; [b] removing alcohol from the reaction mixture of step [a] and diluting with 75 to 150 ml of distilled water; [c] extracting the diluted mixture of step [b] with a mixture of acetone and benzene in the ratio of 50 : 50 to 85 : 10 v/v respectively in incremental volumes for 5 to 8 times to obtain aqueous layer and organic layer, wherein the organic layer yields beta-carotene. 2. A process for the extraction of beta-carotene from vegetable oils substantially as herein described with reference to the foregoing examples.

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