Patent Application: US-201013322674-A

Abstract:
this invention relates to a practical and effective process for converting esterified xanthophylls , including zeaxanthin , to non - esterified xanthophylls through saponification . in addition , the invention provides a process for obtaining esterified zeaxanthin in high yields and purities , isolating the xanthophylls from interfering substances such as waxes , oils , and fats . a product of this process is a zeaxanthin rich substrate that is suitable for use in foods , nutritional supplements , cosmetics , pharmaceuticals and related products .

Description:
the present invention provides an economical and effective process for isolating , purifying , and recovering zeaxanthin in high yields , high purity and suitable for use in medical applications , nutritional supplement applications , food fortification applications , cosmetic applications and other applications . zeaxanthin may be obtained from a variety of natural sources such as green vegetables , yellow / orange fruits and vegetables , various bacteria , from capsicum - derived and other biomass , such as chinese wolfberries , using water and small amounts of benign solvents . zeaxanthin is commonly found in many fruits and vegetables , most notably chinese wolfberries ( goji berries ) of the genius lycium and the fruits of paprika plants of the genus capsicum . in much of the prior art , specific examples are given wherein lutein is isolated and / or purified from marigold oleoresin . although they have many carotenoids and other phytochemicals in common , the chemical profile of marigold oleoresin and wolfberry oleoresin are different than that of capsicum oleoresin ( khachik , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 262 , 284 ). in an embodiment of the present invention , the fruit pods of orange paprika capsicum anmaan which exhibit a hyperaccumulation of carotenoid pigment in the dried ripe fruit flesh , in which zeaxanthin is the dominant carotenoid , are used . ( todd , et al ., u . s . application publication no . 2006 / 1085034 , the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ). the dried ripe fruit pod flesh of this capsicum plant variety is extracted by means of solvent , supercritical fluid , or mechanical processing to provide an oleoresin consisting of resins and volatile oils that will be referred to herein as “ oleoresin orange paprika .” chinese wolfberries , which also contain a preponderance of zeaxanthin in their carotenoid composition , are also a good source of raw materials for this process . saponification includes the process of converting an organic ester into the corresponding alcohol and carboxylic acid soap by alkaline hydrolysis . complete liberation of zeaxanthin esters to free or non - esterified form is helpful to effectively isolate and concentrate zeaxanthin to a desired extent . in the present invention , the oleoresin is completely dissolved in isopropyl alcohol to form a flowable , fluid solution that is easily mixed with water . the ratio of isopropyl alcohol and water to the amount of oleoresin can vary considerably and can be optimized by one skilled in the art . generally speaking , one volume of starting oleoresin can be mixed with 1 - 3 volumes of isopropyl alcohol and 0 . 1 - 3 volumes of water to form a solution that is approximately 3 - 7 times the volume of the original starting material . the water , in part , serves to reduce the cost of the non - aqueous solvents by allowing the use of less non - aqueous solvent as well as to aid in the recovery of precipitated zeaxanthin . zeaxanthin is not soluble in water but the soap by - products are , which allows them to be separated from the zeaxanthin . the isopropyl alcohol is added to assist in dissolving the starting oleoresin and to minimize the foaming issues during filtration that are created from soaps that are a by - product of the saponification process . the addition of isopropyl alcohol also lowers the viscosity of the reaction mixture , it aids in reducing saponification times , and improves filtration rates compared to an all aqueous approach ( see example 6 ). isopropyl alcohol also aids in the purification of the zeaxanthin by solubilizing the other carotenoids ( such as alpha - carotene , beta - carotene , etc .) without appreciably solubilizing the zeaxanthin . the degree of agitation and the temperature at which the reaction is performed can be varied considerably and optimized by simple experimentation by one skilled in the art . as one example , the mixture can be stirred and heated to 60 - 70 ° c . to ensure solubility of the oleoresin and to accelerate the saponification reaction . the concentration of the base used can be varied , as well . an aqueous , 45 % potassium hydroxide solution , for example , can be added to the solution under constant agitation , although lower or higher base concentrations and even solid potassium hydroxide can be used . the required amount of alkali solution is approximately 0 . 5 - 1 . 5 times the amount of starting oleoresin ( weight / weight ) for the given 45 % koh concentration . the amount of base needed may be defined based on the starting amount of oleoresin , since both the oil and the xanthophylls need to be saponified , and not just the xanthophylls . the mixture can be maintained at the same temperature under nitrogen and with agitation for enough time for the saponification reaction to go to completion . lower or higher temperature can also be used and optimized by one skilled in the art . typically under 60 - 70 ° c . conditions , the reaction is complete in a time period of about 60 to 90 minutes . the status of the reaction can be monitored by thin layer chromatography , hplc , or any other method commonly used in the art . other alkali metal ( group 1a metals , for example , li , na ) or alkaline earth metal ( group 2a metal , for example , mg , ca , ba ) hydroxides may be substituted for the preferred koh . zeaxanthin from natural sources is generally present in the form of the all - trans isomer . it is well documented that the trans isomer is less soluble than the cis isomers and is fairly easily precipitated into a solid at room temperature ( reilly , et al ., u . s . application ser . no . 12 / 800 , 416 ). the cis isomers do not form solids nearly as readily as the trans isomer and often are difficult to solidify at room temperature . an excellent review of cis - trans isomerization of carotenoids is given by schieber , et al , 2005 . both the cis and the trans isomers have been detected in the human retina . from a production point of view , the trans isomers are more desirable because they are less soluble and crystallize out more readily from solutions making them easier to recover . table 1 compares the solubility of trans zeaxanthin ( reilly , et al ., u . s . application ser . no . 12 / 800 , 416 ) and lutein ( n . craft et al ., 1992 ). there are large solubility differences between lutein and zeaxanthin , and therefore , processes that work well for one of these xanthophylls may not work as well for the other . the solubility of zeaxanthin in isopropyl alcohol is about five times lower than that for lutein based on the data in table 1 . this does not take into account any matrix differences or the concentration of the carotenoid in that matrix . examples 7 and 8 demonstrate how some of these differences manifest themselves when trying to apply the teachings of madhavi , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 6 , 380 , 442 to zeaxanthin in capsicum oleoresin extracts . application of the teachings of madhavi , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 6 , 380 , 442 resulted in poorer yields and incomplete reaction compared to the teachings of the instant invention ( see example 9 ). one of the most important teachings of the present invention deals with controlling conditions to affect the particle size of the precipitating zeaxanthin . during saponification , as the solution is heated , all the contents become soluble in the reaction mixture . at high temperature , the zeaxanthin remains soluble in the alcohol / water mixture until the reaction is complete . once the reaction is complete , the mixture is allowed to cool slowly ( examples 3 and 9 ). the cooling rate , for example , less than or equal to 5 ° c . per hour , affects the particle size and thereby the ease by which the solid product can be isolated . a relatively large particle size zeaxanthin precipitates out during the slower cooling . once the reaction reaches room temperature , additional all - trans zeaxanthin of relatively smaller particle size precipitates out of the solution over the next 72 hours . the two separate precipitation processes produce two separate distributions of particle size : a larger size distribution that crystallizes out with the slow cooling ( generally & gt ; 70 μm ) and a smaller size distribution that precipitates after the reaction is at room temperature ( generally ˜ 10 μm ). typically , controlled , slow cooling at 5 ° c ./ hour provides an average crystal size between 70 - 85 microns . crystal size & gt ; 100 microns have also been observed using controlled , slower cooling techniques and could be optimized further for larger crystal size by those skilled in the art if needed . any isolation difficulties caused by the difference in size can be alleviated by collecting and separating the larger particles , first , followed by heating the mixture to redissolve the smaller particles , and re - precipitation using slow cooling again ( see example 9 ). solid zeaxanthin , precipitated from the reaction mixture can be easily separated from the reaction mixture by filtration , decantation , centrifugation , or any other separation technique known to those who are skilled in the art . filtration is a typical embodiment . filtering allows the reaction mixture to be recirculated until a filter cake is formed , with the larger crystals acting as a filter aide to trap and aid in the recovery of the smaller particles . once the filter cake is collected it can be washed with water , isopropyl alcohol , or a water / isopropyl alcohol mixture until the desired purity is reached . although the ratio of water to isopropyl alcohol may be varied in practice , rinsing the cake with a volume of 50 : 50 water : isopropyl alcohol equal to one - third the volume of the initial reaction mixture generates a product reaching a purity of & gt ; 50 %. the precipitate wash can be mixed with the collected precipitate and filtered again , or simply run through the original filter cake to wash away excess soaps and other water soluble “ impurities ”. a zeaxanthin purity & gt ; 90 % can be achieved with sufficient precipitate washing . the addition of an alcohol ( such as isopropyl alcohol ) appears to increase the wash efficiency by dissolving impurities , such as carotenes , that are not soluble in water . see example 5 for washing details . note that example 5 was a washing study done to show the difference in wash effectiveness between water and a water / isopropyl alcohol mixture . example 9 demonstrates the purities and yields possible when these conditions are implemented . once the zeaxanthin has been isolated and washed to a desired purity level , it can be treated using a variety of methods available to those who are skilled in the art to remove residual solvents and water . careful consideration should be used in the drying process to minimize the conditions that can lead to degradation of the product . once a dry zeaxanthin product is obtained it can be used as is or converted to a micro - encapsulated form . such a form may be suited for nutritional supplement , beverage or cosmetic uses , and can provide an oxygen barrier that increases the stability of the product . the initial recovered yield of zeaxanthin is directly correlated to the amount of trans zeaxanthin in the starting material ; the higher the percentage trans zeaxanthin to total zeaxanthin ( combination of trans and cis isomers ) in the starting material the higher initial collected yield is expected . the present invention also increases the trans isomer relative to cis isomers in the final zeaxanthin product and also increases purity . this is due to the fact that the trans isomer is less soluble , as previously mentioned , thus making it easier to isolate , leaving behind the soluble cis isomers . any conversion of the cis isomers to trans would improve total zeaxanthin recovery . there has been some work that shows refluxing cis isomers at low temperatures (˜ 65 ° c .) to initiate isomerization to trans isomers in the presence of a hydrocarbon and alcohol ( reilly , et al ., u . s . application ser . no . 12 / 800 , 416 ) with some success . this approach increased the total zeaxanthin yield by as much as 15 % but this approach does not work in the present mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water due to the combination of high temperatures needed to bring the reaction to reflux ( approximately 100 ° c .) and strong basic conditions . at these higher temperatures and strong basic conditions , the reverse affect of degradation of trans isomers to cis isomers occurs similar to the teachings of reilly , et al . u . s . application ser . no . 12 / 800 , 416 , so elevated temperatures (& gt ; 90 ° c .) in this reaction combination and ph should be avoided . the conversion of cis zeaxanthin to trans zeaxanthin in the supernatant at room temperature over time has been observed ( see example 4 and example 9 ). it is recommended to let the conversion happen for at least about 10 days at room temperature . higher temperatures may accelerate the conversion , but may change the equilibrium point between the concentrations of cis and trans isomers . the teachings of reilly , et al . u . s . application ser . no . 12 / 800 , 416 would indicate that heating at 65 ° c . would be beneficial in terms of cis to trans isomer conversion . those skilled in the art can optimize the balance between time , % conversion and ultimate cost - effectiveness of the conversion process . this trans zeaxanthin in the supernatant can be collected and washed in the same manner as described previously . for example , a 2 . 68 % zeaxanthin oleoresin input having 82 % trans zeaxanthin provided a 76 % total zeaxanthin recovered yield of & gt ; 98 % trans isomer ratio and & gt ; 60 % zeaxanthin purity product in the initial yield . the cis isomer enriched filtrate from the initial separation was allowed to sit and convert to the desirable trans isomer which was collected in a second filtration to yield an additional 15 % total zeaxanthin yield of & gt ; 98 % trans isomer ratio and & gt ; 60 % zeaxanthin purity for a combined total of 91 % total zeaxanthin recovered yield of & gt ; 98 % trans zeaxanthin and & gt ; 60 % zeaxanthin purity ( see example 9 ). the data in example 4 shows that the % trans zeaxanthin increased over time as the % cis zeaxanthin decreases , all while the % total zeaxanthin remains relatively constant . this indicates that zeaxanthin is stable to degradation under these conditions , but that the cis isomer converted to the more desirable trans isomer , which also resulted in an increased isolated yield . including . this secondary recovery process brings important economic benefits by increasing the overall yield , particularly for starting materials that contain higher initial cis to total isomer ratios . the subject matter of the instant invention will be better understood in connection with the following examples , which are intended as an illustration of and not a limitation upon the scope of the invention . an orange paprika extract ( oleoresin ) containing 2 . 68 % total zeaxanthin ( 40 . 36 g ) was placed in a 500 ml 3 - necked , round bottom flask equipped with an overhead stirrer , heating mantle , nitrogen inlet and outlet , and thermometer . isopropyl alcohol ( 60 . 07 g ), water ( reverse osmosis - grade , 60 . 06 g ) and potassium hydroxide solution ( 45 %, aqueous , 30 . 03 g ) was added . the reaction was stirred and heated under nitrogen until the reaction reached 65 ° c . the temperature was maintained for 90 minutes and complete saponification was confirmed by thin layer chromatography . the heat and stirring was turned off while keeping the round bottom flask in the heating mantle to assist in slow cooling to promote larger crystal growth . the reaction was allowed to stand for 72 hours to allow crystallization to occur . the mixture was then filtered through fluted filter paper . the precipitate was collected and mixed with agitation with 100 ml reverse osmosis - ode water for 30 minutes . this wash / precipitate mixture was then re - filtered through a clean piece of fluted filter paper . the washed precipitate was collected and dried overnight in a vacuum oven at 40 ° c . and analyzed for zeaxanthin . a table of the results is given below : the process described in example 1 was repeated using a starting material that was higher in both trans / total zeaxanthin ratio as well as total zeaxanthin concentration . results are given in the table 3 . the recovered precipitate in this example was not dried prior to hplc analysis . it contained 44 . 13 % solvent ( water and ipa ). adjusting for the solvent and water and then calculating purity on a dry weight basis would have brought the % total zeaxanthin purity up to 65 . 15 %, which is consistent with the recovered total zeaxanthin purity reported on a dry weight basis in example 1 . this experiment was only done to show the collected yields are dependant on the amount of trans zeaxanthin is in the starting material . examples one and two give clear evidence that the total yield of free , non - esterified zeaxanthin is dependent on the amount of trans zeaxanthin is in the starting material . particle size plays a vital role in filtration efficiency , with larger particle size providing easier recovery . the particle size of the precipitating zeaxanthin crystal can be controlled by controlling a number of variables , with the easiest being temperature and time . a set of three experiments were run simultaneously to demonstrate the effect of temperature and time on the particle size of the precipitating zeaxanthin . controlled , slow cooling provided larger particle sizes . additional yield can be isolated from a mixture that contains a combination of trans and cis isomers , by allowing the mixed isomer solution to sit at room temperature for a period of time . the additional yield is attributed to the conversion of the very soluble cis isomers to the less soluble trans isomer , which begins to precipitate out of solution as it exceeds its solubility limit . a paprika extract ( oleoresin ) containing 2 . 75 % total zeaxanthin ( 600 . 05 g ) was placed in a 3 - necked , round bottom flask equipped with an overhead stirrer , heating mantle , nitrogen inlet and outlet , and thermometer . isopropyl alcohol ( 1800 . 30 g ), and potassium hydroxide solution ( 45 %, aqueous , 450 g ) was added . the reaction was stirred and heated under nitrogen at 60 ° c . for 90 minutes . the reaction was treated with a volume of reverse osmosis - grade water equal to the volume of the reaction mixture and was then allowed to cool and was analyzed for zeaxanthin and isomer ratios by hplc over a period of 24 days ( see “ reaction mixture ” in table 5 ). for each time interval , the mixture was stirred to insure homogeneity before a portion was removed and filtered through fluted paper to test recovery yields ( filtrate and precipitate were both assayed for zeaxanthin content and % yields were calculated from the results ). results are shown in the graph in fig2 . this technique , to obtain additional yield by allowing the cis isomers to isomerize to trans isomers , can carried out in a number of ways . one method , described in this example , allows the reaction mixture to sit at room temperature until the desired trans isomer ratio is obtained before isolation . a similar result can be achieved in a two - stage isolation process . here , after initial isolation of zeaxanthin by filtration or centrifugation , the cis isomer rich filtrate or supernatant is allowed to sit until the desired trans ratio is obtained . the second crop of product is obtained by a second filtration or centrifugation step . this process can be repeated until the desired yield is obtained . it should be kept in mind , however , that additional wash steps may be necessary to reach a desired purity level in the collected precipitate , whether using a single or multiple isolation steps . one skilled in the art can optimize the protocol for the size and number of wash steps as a function of the recovery of the zeaxanthin from any subsequent filtration steps . a side by side experiment was done to determine the effectiveness of a water wash versus a water / isopropyl alcohol mixture wash on purity and yield . less than optimal amounts of the wash solutions were applied in equal volumes in an attempt to accentuate the washing efficiency difference between water and a 50 : 50 ( vol / vol ) water / isopropyl alcohol mixture . therefore optimal purities were not achieved in this experiment . the protocol in example 9 uses more optimal volumes . both experiments were run under the same conditions and filtered through fluted paper to obtain two separate initial precipitates . these precipitates were left on the fluted paper and in one case , the precipitate was treated with 100 ml of reverse osmosis - grade water . the other precipitate was treated with 100 ml of a 50 : 50 mixture ( reverse osmosis - grade water : isopropyl alcohol ). a smaller amount of wash was applied , than in the optimal case ( example 9 ), to these experiments to show wash efficiency without reaching a purity maximum . the results are shown in the table 6 . the % total zeaxanthin in the final dry precipitate was higher with the 50 : 50 isopropyl alcohol : water wash . it is also interesting to note that the two experiments differ in the yield of the final precipitate , but most of that difference can be traced to what did not precipitate out of the filtrate . this has nothing to do with the washing procedure or wash solvents , since that occurred after the precipitation . the loss of yield to the wash filtrates was about 1 % greater for the 50 : 50 isopropyl alcohol : water wash than the water wash filtrate . this indicates that both washes produce very similar yields from the washing step , but that the 50 : 50 isopropyl alcohol : water wash is more efficient in removing impurities . those skilled in the art could use this information to further optimize the wash volumes to minimize solvent usage and yield loss to obtain necessary purity targets . a side by side experiment was performed to show the impact isopropyl alcohol has on the efficiency of zeaxanthin isolation . the experiments were run following the method described in example 1 ( example a using 40 . 26 g of oleoresin orange paprika and example b using 40 . 51 g ) with the exception of water replacing the addition of isopropyl alcohol in experiment a . both experiments were held at 65 ° c . for 90 minutes for saponification to take place and filtered after sitting for 72 hours at ambient temperature . the viscosity of experiment a ( water only ) was higher viscosity , having the consistency of used motor oil , compared to experiment b ( water and ipa ) which was very fluid and had the consistency of water . the experiments were filtered with vacuum through a whatman ®, schleicher & amp ; schuell , 55 mm paper filter disk on a buchner funnel into an erlenmeyer flask . neither resulting precipitates were washed in order to emphasize the difference in recovery efficiency ; however , washing the recovered precipitate using the techniques previously described will result in adequate purities . results are shown in table 7 . the results show that isopropyl alcohol decreases the amount of time necessary for saponification and increases filtration rates by decreasing the viscosity . while experiment b was completely saponified in about 90 minutes , experiment a was only about ½ complete . experiment a also experienced foaming issues in both the reaction and in filtering that were not seen with isopropyl alcohol in experiment b . an experiment was performed that followed the protocol described in madhavi , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 6 , 380 , 442 which shows that the teachings of the present invention are needed to produce a quality product with high yields . oleoresin orange paprika ( 40 . 09 g ) containing 2 . 68 % zeaxanthin and 4 . 5 % total carotenoids was dissolved in 3 volumes of isopropyl alcohol ( approximately 120 ml ) at 65 ° c ., forming a free - flowing solution . an aqueous 50 % potassium hydroxide solution ( prepared by combining 3 . 6 grams of solid potassium hydroxide and 3 . 6 grams of reverse osmosis - grade water ) was added to the mixture . the temperature was maintained for 90 minutes and allowed to cool to room temperature . the reaction mixture was then mixed with water ( approximately 170 ml reverse osmosis - grade ) to reduce the solvent concentration to approximately 50 % ( volume / volume ), stirred , and allowed to stand at room temperature for 4 hours . after 4 hours the reaction was sampled and analyzed by hplc which showed that only 53 % of the zeaxanthin esters were saponified . the reaction mixture was then mixed with 1 , 360 ml of reverse osmosis - grade water and stirred . the resulting mixture was then centrifuged in 250 ml bottles for 30 minutes at 1 , 900 rpm on an iec model k centrifuge . most of the precipitate sank to the bottom of the centrifuge bottle but there was still a noticeable amount of precipitate visible in the supernatant layer . this was most likely due to the specific gravity of the mixture and size of the particles . to ensure maximum collection of precipitate , the mixture was then stirred and filtered using the filter procedure described in example 6 . the resulting filtrate was free of visible precipitate . the filtered precipitate was washed twice with 100 ml water , filtered through clean filter paper after each wash , and dried in a vacuum oven at room temperature . the results are shown in table 8 . note that in example 1 , the initial precipitate was also washed only with water to give a product with & gt ; 60 % purity . the method described in madhavi , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 6 , 380 , 442 results in product with & gt ; 50 % purity , but at the cost of very low and un - economical yields . this experiment was repeated in example 8 using more alkali to allow the reaction to reach completion in the given amount of time . an experiment was performed that followed the protocol described in madhavi , ei al ., u . s . pat . no . 6 , 380 , 442 using the amount of alkali provided in the present invention to show that increased base alone is not sufficient , but that the additional teachings in the present invention are also required to produce a quality product with high yields . oleoresin orange paprika containing 2 . 68 % total zeaxanthin ( 40 . 08 g ) was dissolved in 3 volumes of isopropyl alcohol ( approximately 120 ml ) at 65 ° c . to form a free - flowing solution . aqueous 45 % potassium hydroxide solution ( 30 . 11 g ) was added to the mixture . this is approximately 0 . 75 times the amount of starting oleoresin . the temperature was maintained at 65 ° c . for 90 minutes and then allowed to cool to room temperature . the mixture was then diluted with a 50 % ( volume / volume ) amount of water ( approximately 190 ml reverse osmosis - grade ) and allowed to sit at room temperature for 4 hours . after 4 hours the reaction was tested by hplc to show that 99 . 97 % of the zeaxanthin esters were saponified . the reaction mixture was then diluted with 1 , 520 ml reverse osmosis - grade water . the resulting mixture was then centrifuged in 250 ml bottles for 30 minutes at 1 , 900 rpm on an iec model k centrifuge . due to the specific gravity of the mixture and size of the particles the particles remained suspended after centrifuging with little to no precipitate being centrifuged out . the mixture was then mixed and filtered following the filter procedure described in example 6 . the filtered precipitate was washed twice with 100 ml water , filtered through clean filter paper after each wash , and dried in a vacuum oven at room temperature . the results are shown in table 9 . the results show that the method described in madhavi , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 6 , 380 , 442 results in & gt ; 50 % purity , but extremely low yields that are much lower than the yields described for the present invention as illustrated in example 9 . the product from this example required significantly more time to filter compared to the product prepared by the method described in the present invention . filtering required 36 minutes in the initial filtration for this experiment compared to the 18 minutes shown in example 6 using the present invention . smaller particles tend to plug filter media faster than larger particles resulting in longer filtration times . the crystal size of zeaxanthin was measured for this example and the mean size was 26 microns compared to the typical average of 70 - 80 microns size produced in the present invention . an experiment was performed to show an example of optimal results for the teachings described in the present invention . a paprika extract ( oleoresin ) containing f2 . 68 % total zeaxanthin ( 40 . 22 g ) was placed in a 500 ml 3 - necked , round bottom flask equipped with an overhead stirrer , warm water bath , nitrogen inlet and outlet , and thermometer . isopropyl alcohol ( 60 . 33 g ), water ( reverse osmosis - grade , 60 . 17 g ) and potassium hydroxide solution ( 45 %, aqueous , 30 . 10 g ) was added . the reaction was stirred and heated under nitrogen until the reaction reached 65 ° c . the temperature was maintained for 90 minutes and complete saponification was confirmed by thin layer chromatography . the stirring was turned off and the water bath was cooled at a rate of 5 ° c ./ hour to assist in slow cooling to promote larger zeaxanthin crystal growth . the average particle size typically ranges from 70 - 85 microns , but particle sizes greater than 100 microns have been observed using this controlled , slow cooling technique . the reaction was allowed to stand for 72 hours to allow further crystallization to occur . the mixture was then filtered through fluted filter paper . 168 . 82 g of filtrate was collected and set aside for future work . the collected precipitate was transferred to a beaker with a stir bar and mixed with 50 : 50 water ( reverse osmosis - grade ): ipa mixture ( 64 . 97 g ) for 15 minutes . the solution was filtered again through a clean piece of fluted filter paper . the collected precipitate was dried at room temperature in a vacuum oven . the dried precipitate was analyzed by hplc ( 61 . 54 % purity ) and the results are shown in table 10 . the initial 168 . 82 g of filtrate was analyzed for zeaxanthin by hplc and allowed to sit at room temperature for 14 days to allow the conversion of cis isomers to the more desirable trans isomers . after 14 days the filtrate was heated to 65 ° c . in a warm water bath for 90 minutes and slow cooled 5 °/ hour in the same manner as the saponification to promote large crystal growth . once the mixture reached room temperature the mixture was allowed to sit for 72 hours and filtered again through fluted filter paper . the collected precipitate was washed with 65 . 03 g of a 50 : 50 water ( reverse osmosis - grade ): ipa in a beaker in the same manner as previously described . the solution was filtered through a clean fluted filter paper , dried at room temperature in a vacuum oven , and analyzed by hplc . the results for the additional collected precipitate ( 60 . 32 % purity ) are shown in table 11 . * initial filtrate was analyzed by hplc right after the initial filtration . the filtrate then sat for 14 days prior to being filtered for additional recovered yield to allow cis zeaxanthin to convert to trans zeaxanthin . the additional collection of precipitate was combined with the initial precipitate to give a 91 . 21 % total zeaxanthin yield from the starting oleoresin . the precipitate from the initial recovery and additional recovery both had purities & gt ; 60 % total zeaxanthin . the combined collected precipitate also resulted in 110 . 49 % of the total trans zeaxanthin yield from the starting material which indicates the isomerization of cis zeaxanthin to the trans zeaxanthin isomer . this is also evident from table 11 since the initial filtrate contained 0 . 078 g of the trans zeaxanthin isomer and 0 . 187 g of the cis zeaxanthin isomer , while the recovered solid from that filtrate contained 0 . 162 g of the trans zeaxanthin isomer and 0 . 001 g of the cis zeaxanthin isomer . goji berry extract is saponified using the method described in example 9 . the resulting reaction mixture is filtered to obtain greater than 90 % of the starting trans zeaxanthin and is washed and is dried to obtain greater than 50 % zeaxanthin product . marigold extract containing the xanthophylls lutein and / or zeaxanthin is saponified using the method described in example 9 . the resulting reaction mixture is filtered to obtain greater than 90 % of the starting trans xanthophylls and is washed and is dried to obtain greater than 50 % total xanthophyll product . 1 . ausich , rodney l . ; david j . sanders , international application publication no . wo 97 / 23436 a1 , published jul . 3 , 1997 . 2 . chopra m ., thurnham d i , “ effect of lutein on oxidation of low density lipoproteins ( ldl ) in vitro ,” proceedings of the nutrition society , 1994 ; 53 : 1993 # 18a . 4 . ferrater , martorell joan caries ; fernandez , martin juan antonio ; ribera , ruiz david ; viso , acosta antonio , spanish pat . no . es 2 , 265 , 787 a1 , published feb . 16 , 2007 . 5 . howard a n , williams n r , palmer c r , cambou j p , evans a e , foote j w , et al ., “ do hydroxyl - 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