There are many preparation processes of lycopene raw materials, and the following are common in the market at present:
Chemical synthesis technology: the principle is to synthesize lycopene by chemical reaction with alcohol, aldehyde or phosphine salt. Raw materials and products are chemical substances, and the product structure is different from natural products. Its characteristic is that its safety and effectiveness have been questioned.
Microbial fermentation technology: the principle is to use filamentous fungus Blakeslea trispora for biosynthesis, which is characterized by biosafety risks.
Chemical solvent extraction technology: using the fat solubility of lycopene, extracting with organic solvents such as petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and chloroform, and then distilling the volatile solvent at high temperature. Its characteristics are: 1. The media are all chemical solvents, which has the risk of solvent residue; 2. Under the condition of high temperature, other beneficial vitamins, trace elements and other nutrients are destroyed.
SFE (Supercritical Extraction) technology: The principle is to make use of the good solubility of lycopene in supercritical CO2 fluid, so that the product is extracted at a temperature higher than the critical temperature (Tc=3 1.26℃) and a critical pressure (Pc=7.2Mpa), and then the temperature is adjusted under reduced pressure, so that the supercritical fluid returns to the gas state and the lycopene is precipitated. Its characteristic is 1. Pollution-free, natural and safe; 2. Effective nutritional ingredients such as phytosterol, β-carotene, natural phospholipids and ve. Fully reserved, synergistic effect of antioxidant components, and good effect; 3. Great technical difficulty, low yield and high cost.
Synthesis method is the first choice for most low-end products because of its low cost. The products extracted by chemical solvents are natural products, but due to the possibility of solvent residue, it will be potentially harmful if it is not handled properly. This kind of products are represented by Zhongji and COFCO. Supercritical extraction process is relatively safer because it does not use solvents, but it is not favored by many manufacturers because of its high cost. Representative brands are Hongfan, Tian Healthy Qi and Lai Kang Bei.
2. Content identification:
In fact, the content seems to be a more critical indicator of the product, because most consumers want to have an effect after taking it. Decades of research have confirmed that the health-care dose of lycopene is 5 ~ 10mg/ day for normal people, and 20 ~ 30 mg/day for some patients with prostate, fertility enhancement, blood lipid reduction and radiation resistance. Some consumers do not feel the value of lycopene after taking it. The main reason is that the effective intake of lycopene is too low.
At present, many brands on the market are deliberately vague in this respect, and some products contain only 1mg and 3mg per capsule, which means that consumers must take enough capsules every day to be effective; Some products have no labels at all, and his mind makes you guess; Some products use the amount of lycopene extract or tomato extract to pretend to be the content of lycopene. Do you know that lycopene and lycopene extract are completely different concepts? What's more, some products pretend to be lycopene content by the weight of capsules (generally 500mg/ capsule). ......
Clearly marked are: Hongbai Na: 65mg/ tablet, COFCO 10mg/ tablet, Zhongji 10mg/ tablet, Tian Healthy Qi 12mg/ tablet, Lai Kang Bei 10mg/ tablet, and Hongfan 6mg/ tablet. Among them, a capsule of Hongbai Jindan produced by Xinjiabo contains 200mg of lycopene, 65mg of resveratrol and 1.35mg, with a purity of over 98%, which is the highest known lycopene content at present.