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Article: An ounce of prevention from a ton of tomatoes.(Innovations)
- Article from:
- Environmental Health Perspectives
- Article date:
- March 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Tomato processors enhancing the health of consumers with their nutrient-rich tomato extract soon may enhance the health of their communities as they adopt a new, green technique for producing the precious substance. A team of researchers from the University of Florida (UF) has developed an extraction method using supercritical carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]), which may provide a cleaner way to get more extract from more tomatoes.
Companies that produce tomato extract and pure lycopene (the carotenoid that gives tomatoes their red color) typically use chemical solvents to draw the compounds from tomatoes. One of the most commonly used solvents is ethyl acetate. ...