All the dried samples of the treatments, previously
described, were lixiviated with hexane to achieve xanthophylls
extraction. A single-stage continuous extraction
was performed to evaluate the change on
xanthophylls concentrations in hexane, and also to
establish the approximate number of stages in which
the maximum extraction could be achieved. The results,
showed in Fig. 3, indicate the correlation that exists
among different treatments on marigold flower prior to
the extraction process. In the figure, it is observed that
the material treated with raw enzymatic extract from
saprophyte microorganisms leads, in short time, to the
highest yield; the results show that at 10 min of extraction
time, the maximum concentration of xanthophylls
in the solvent phase is achieved. After this time, the concentration
remains practically constant. However, it
may not be necessary to operate the extraction for
10 min. From the figure, it can be noted that after only
4 min xanthophylls recovery of 96% on average is
achieved. In addition, the result also show that the only
sample that reaches equilibrium, within the horizon of
the experiment, is the one treated with the raw enzymatic
extract.