Fucoxanthin is a natural pigment contained in microalgae such as brown algae, diatom, gold algae, and yellow green algae. It is a carotenoid in algae and is an oxygenated derivative of carotene, namely lutein. Fucoxanthin is insoluble in water and easily soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol. It is generally a fat-soluble powder or an oil. The color is orange-yellow, orange-red to reddish-brown as the purity is low to high. The fucoxanthin has a molecular formula of C42H58O6, a molecular weight of 658.906, a density of 1.09, and a melting point of 166-169 °C.
The molecular structure of fucoxanthin:
The raw materials used for industrial scale extraction of fucoxanthin products are mainly Laminaria Japonica, Undaria Pinnatifida, Sargassum Fusiforme, and microalgae such as Phaeodactylum tricornutum and diatom.
The published results of the world show that fucoxanthin has natural biological activities such as anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, weight loss and nerve cell protection. It is widely used as a functional food raw material and skin care beauty products.
The raw materials used in the extraction of fucoxanthin products by "Jingjing" are kelp, wakame, and sarcophagus. In the production process, ethanol is used as an extractant, and methanol, acetone and the like are not used. "Jingjing" fucoxanthin are available in oil or powder form. The appearance is orange yellow and reddish brown depending on the purity of the product. Product specifications and forms are as follows:
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Item
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Specs
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Fucoxanthin
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0.5-10% oil、5-50% powder
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Sargassum, kelp, wakame, etc.
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Fucoxanthin is easily soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol, insoluble in water, easily oxidized by air, sensitive to light and heat, and unstable. The product must be vacuum packed or filled with nitrogen, protected from light, high temperature, and stored at low temperature (below 5 °C). Use it as soon as possible after unpacking. If you do not need to continue to save, you need to drain the air in the package and fill it with nitrogen.
The purity standard of fucoxanthin product established by "Jingjing" is determined by liquid chromatography (HPLC method), using pure fucoxanthin as a standard, and the purity is detected by liquid chromatography.
How to identify real fucoxanthin
Identification by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC method) or thin layer chromatography.
As mentioned earlier, fucoxanthin is classified as a lutein in carotenoids, and certain lutein products have similar appearance, approximate physical and chemical properties, and chemical properties. Lutein is soluble in organic solvents such as petroleum ether, acetone and ethanol. The wavelengths at which the maximum spectral absorption of several lutein substances in ethanol (unit: nm) are very close (similar in petroleum ether), such as:
Zeaxanthin 452nm、fucoxanthin 453nm、diatoxanthin 453nm、 cryptoxanthin 452nm ，
Therefore, they cannot be qualitatively distinguished using the ultraviolet spectrophotometer method (UV method). The vulnerability is that the absorbance values of different amounts of other lutein such as zeaxanthin are exactly the same as the absorbance values of different amounts of fucoxanthin. And the color is almost the same, the UV method is completely indistinguishable. Qualitative analysis can be performed accurately and accurately only by standard calibration. On this basis, quantitative analysis can be performed at the same time. HPLC method is an effective method for qualitative detection and identification of fucoxanthin. Qualitative detection of fucoxanthin is a task that cannot be accomplished by UV method.
