Iranian Company Produces Beta-Carotene Needed to Meet Domestic Needs

Saeed Abedimanesh, a biochemistry researcher, said that the focus of his research activities is the extraction of bioactive materials from natural sources, especially thrown away crops and fruits.

He said that he and his colleagues at their company produce different products one of which is beta-carotene using nanoliposome.

“We produce this material from carrots peels which are usually thrown away. This product is used to produce cooking oil, butter and dairy industries' needs in general,” he said.

The researcher added that their company’s products meets the domestic needs and the dairy and food companies no longer need to import those products.

 “To date, this product has not been industrially produced in the country yet, while we hope to achieve mass and industrial production of this product,” Abedimanesh added, saying that development of the Beta-Carotene was achieved with the support of national Iranian Nano Technology Headquarter.

“The yellow color of the oil that are consumed daily in homes is due to the existence of beta-carotene. Moreover, beta-carotene is used as a color additive in production of pizza butter and cheese," he went on to say. 

According to a study, the richest sources of beta-carotene are yellow, orange, and green leafy fruits and vegetables (such as carrots, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cantaloupe, and winter squash). In general, the more intense the color of the fruit or vegetable is, the more beta-carotene it contains.

The researcher said that they produce different types of beta-carotenes, liquid, solid and powder while still the imported products are used by the country’s industries.

Stating that nanotechnology has been used in their product, Abedimanesh said that the nano ingredient of this product is nano liposome, whose aqueous phase and organic phase are combined together and has helped the stability of the product's color.”

According to previous studies available on the internet, nanoliposome, or submicron bilayer lipid vesicle, is a new technology for the encapsulation and delivery of bioactive agents. The list of bioactive material that can be incorporated to nanoliposomes is immense, ranging from pharmaceuticals to cosmetics and nutraceuticals.

4155/i