TECHNOLOGICAL PROSPECTION OF ASTAXANTHIN RECOVERY OF SHRIMP WASTE LITOPENAEUS VANNAMEI BY THE VEGETABLE OIL EXTRACTION PROCESS

Resumo

Shrimp residues discarded during the shrimp processing process present bioactive molecules with high added value. Among them, astaxanthin, a natural pigment produced by microorganisms, algae and plants widely used in the food, cosmetics, nutraceutical and aquaculture industries. Commercial extraction of astaxanthin usually involves the use of organic solvents. However, more sustainable alternatives have been proposed and one of them is the extraction with vegetable oils. Thus, the present prospection was used to determine the techniques most used in recent times to obtain astaxanthin from shrimp residues. For this purpose, the National Intellectual Property Institute (INPI), the European Patent Office (Espacenet), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) patent banks were searched and the scientific research was done through the Capes Journal and the Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo). The search returned approximately 5,000 patents and 24,000 theses and articles with the total of searched keywords. In addition, the astaxanthin origin and its areas of use were also analyzed. The results showed that the techniques of extracting astaxanthin from shrimp residues are in the early stages of technological development. Natural astaxanthin has been attracting more attention than the synthetic process, finding wide application in the food and pharmaceutical sectors.