The effect of added solvents on soy oil lutein adsorption by silicic acid

It has been reported that addition of isopropanol to a soy oil miscella inhibits the binding of soy lutein to added silicic acid by competitive adsorption. It was suggested that the competition was based on the polarity of the miscella constituents. This investigation studied the effects of a homologous series of lower alcohols to competitively inhibit lutein binding to silicic acid from a soy oil hexane miscella. Lutein binding inhibition by molecules of carbon chains with the same lengths, but with different functional groups, was also examined. Minor differences were found between members of a homologous series of alcohols. A similar result was found with short‐chain fatty acids. The ability of various functional groups to displace lutein from silicic acid was dependent on the molecules’ ability to form hydrogen bonds, rather than on polarity.