Abstract:Lycopene is a natural food colorant existing in tomatoes and tomato-based foods. It has attracted much attention due to its various physiological activities but the poor water-solubility limits its utilization in food technology. A vacuum heating and emulsifying system was herein used to prepare the pre-emulsified lycopene powder. The ingredients and the technology were investigated via single factor and orthogonal experiments using lycopene water dispersibility as evaluation index. The optimal processing parameters were as follows: the sample was heated to 155 ℃ and kept for 1.5 min, and a composite emulsifier including sucrose ester and glycerol monostearate at the ratio of 3∶5 was used with a dosage of 4.5%. At the same time, sugar powder and/or maltodextrin and/or modified starch could be used as an excipient. The content of lycopene reached 3.35% and the powder possessed dark-red color, fast dissolution, good solubility and emulsion stability and the cis-isomers took up to 58.53 % of total lycopene.
