Effect of Solvents on Extraction of Bixin from Bixa orellana Seeds as Natural Colorant in Lip Gloss Formulation

Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Sebelas Maret University, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: end_kwart@staff.uns.ac.id

Abstract

The seeds of annatto (Bixa orellana) are identified as a plant with significant potential as a coloring agent. They are applied in food, textiles, paint, and cosmetics. Specifically in cosmetics, Bixa orellana has been particularly used as a colorant of lipstick. The reddish-orange color of annatto seed is primarily due to bixin content. This study focused on the effect of solvent i.e. ethanol, acetone, and ethyl acetate on the extracted annatto seeds (bixin) characteristics and utilization in lip gloss formulation. The extraction was performed for 90 minutes at 50°C using a stirrerequipped extractor by varying the solvent. The results indicated that acetone yielded the highest bixin content at 13.43 mg/g of seeds, followed by ethyl acetate with 8.12 mg/g, and ethanol with the lowest bixin content at 2.82 mg/g. Then the extract was concentrated by a rotary vacuum evaporator and centrifuge to obtain the precipitate of the extract. The highest yield with acetone solvent was 2.019%, while the yield with ethanol and ethyl acetate solvents were 1.603% and 0.282% respectively. Meanwhile, the result of the evaluation test of lip gloss indicates that ethyl acetate solvent showed the optimal formulations due to the evaluation of homogeneity, pH, irritation, and hedonic tests.