3.3. Extraction of lycopene
Extraction of lycopene from dried and powdered matrices was carried out at each of the experimental combinations through an automated supercritical fluid extraction system (Model 7100, Thar Technologies Inc., USA) consisting a stainless steel extraction vessel of 1lt. capacity. For each experiment, the extraction vessel was loaded with 250 g of lyophilized powder wrapped with filter paper to prevent spillage during extraction and contamination of the extracted material with any solid particles. Ethanol (5% w/w) was used as a co-solvent for enhancing the extraction efficiency. Experimental parameters during the study were controlled by software (SuperChrom SFC Suite v5.9, Thar Technologies Inc., USA). The extracted…show more content… 3.4.2 Linearity
Linearity (ability to extract test results that are directly, or by means of well-defined mathematical transformations, proportional to the concentration of analytes in samples within a given range) was tested using blank (pure HPLC grade hexane), 50%,80%,100%,120% and 150%of reference solutions.
3.4.3 Recovery
Recovery was evaluated by spiking the reference solution (50,80,100,120 and 150%)with sample having known amounts of lycopene. The spiked reference solutions were evaluated for its lycopene content. Recovery percentage was calculated as follows.
…. (3.1)
Whereas, x= percent area of spiked reference solution y =percent area of reference solution
3.4.4 Precision
Precision a measure of repeatability is usually expressed in terms of percentagerelative standard deviation (% RSD). Precision of the method was evaluated using six replications for each of the reference solution and known sample. The detected contents of lycopene among the replications along with their standard deviation and % RSD were evaluated to understand the precision of the adopted