Methyloxolane for the extraction of lutein

The present study described an efficient green process to isolate lutein with significantly improved yield (2.56%) and purity (97.33%) over the conventional methods. Based on the results, 2- methyltetrahydrofuran could be a practical green alternative to the traditional toxic solvents for the processing of lutein. Further, the chemical analysis of the essential oil of the residual receptacles obtained after removing petals revealed the presence of important organic volatiles, including piperitone (54.7%) and piperitenone oxide (6.5%), indicating its usefulness for value-addition.