DIGEST JOURNAL OF NANOMATERIALS AND BIOSTRUCTURES, ISSN: 1842-3582, Volume: 9, Issue: 2, Pages: 745-755, Published: APR-JUN 2014

Abstract: Zeaxanthin was intended for use in foods and beverages as a colouring and as a nutritional supplement. The main goal of this article was the study of the carotenoid antioxidants by spectrophotometric methods, in order to identify and determine maize zeaxanthin by using known extinction coefficients or experimentally calculated from calibration curves. Zeaxanthin concentration in acetone, by means of the extinction coefficient of 2340, was 1.4 times higher than the one obtained from the calibration curve (n = 8, r(2) = 1.000). The carotenoid levels in maize presented a wide range, with the highest levels of zeaxanthin being 16.3 mg kg(-1). In order to establish ethanol efficiency in zeaxanthin conditioning, ethanol extracts were tested for their stability. The study of the selected conditions for zeaxanthin storage highlighted the determining parameters of zeaxanthin stability, meaning the temperature of 0 degrees C. Qualitatively, zeaxanthin can be identified based on its characteristic spectrum intervals of carbon-carbon single bond (1156 cm(-1)) and from the carbon-carbon double bond stretch vibrations (1657 cm(-1)) of its molecule backbone (zeaxanthin characteristic bands).