Purification of Anthocyanin Extract from Roselle by Progressive Freezing: Effect of coolant temperature and stirring rate

¹ HICOE – Center for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
² Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: nurul.amran@utp.edu.my

Abstract

This study presents the process of progressive freezing as a potentially new and alternative approach for the purification of anthocyanin extract to replace the conventional methods of the aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) and adsorption. Specifically, anthocyanins extract was obtained from the roselle plant or also known as red hibiscus. It is essential to purify the anthocyanins extract before it can be used in various applications to remove the by-products of the extract i.e. free sugar, sugar alcohol, organic acids, amino acids, and proteins. Before the purification step, the anthocyanin was first extracted from the roselle flower through a maceration process. The total amount of anthocyanins in the extract was measured by a UV-VIS spectrophotometer. The extract was then concentrated via the progressive freezing process and the influence of cooling temperature and rate of stirring were analysed vis a vis the process performance, which was represented by the effective partition constant (K) and concentration efficiency. The highest concentration efficiency of 55% and the smallest K value of 0.3 were found at the coolant temperature of -14 °C and 250 rpm rate of stirring. It was also found that lower coolant temperature and higher stirring rate produced a K value that was smaller and superior efficiency.