Some characteristics of tomato lycopene and the possibility of its use in fresh milk fortification

Abstract

The results showed that lycopene dye was highly effective in reducing the peroxide number value, as adding 1 mg of the dye to fresh milk led to the lowest peroxide number (0.497 - 2.483) compared to (0.543 - 4.943) of milk with artificial antioxidant BHT and milk without addition, which scored (0.567 - 11.997) for eleven days of storage at 4 °C. Lycopene dye reduced the values of thiobarbituric acid (TBA) in milk stored at 4°C for seven days compared to regular milk without addition. The results also proved that the dry lycopene dye extracted from the fruits of the tomato plant, when dissolved in buffer solutions with different pHs ranging from (3-8), did not have a significant effect on the dyes, as the pH factor on the measured wavelengths ranged from 370.0-370.5 As for the effect of the number of days factor, it ranged from 369.7-370.6 nanometers. It was found that low temperatures did not affect the lycopene pigment extracted from tomato fruits. The results of the sensory evaluation indicate that the total sum of sensory evaluation scores (taste, texture, and appearance) was higher (23.8) in the treatment of lycopene-free milk compared to the milk fortified with lycopene tomato, which scored 22.6. Keywords: plant pigments, lycopene, fresh milk