{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,24]],"date-time":"2026-10-24T01:13:08Z","timestamp":1792804388386,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763424000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"WAQF"},{"name":"Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Abdulaziz University","id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02ma4wv74","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects millions of people around the world, particularly in populations with limited dietary diversity. The present study aimed to develop \u03b2-carotene-fortified coconut oil using Pouteria campechiana (Canistel), which is an underutilized tropical fruit rich in \u03b2-carotene. A solvent-free fortification process was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite design to evaluate the effects of oil percentage (50\u2013100% w\/v) and heating temperature (30\u201360 \u00b0C) on \u03b2-carotene retention and oil quality. The quadratic model showed excellent fit (R2 = 0.9970; lack of fit p = 0.6815), while optimum conditions were identified at 52.4 \u00b0C and 50% (w\/w) oil, yielding a predicted \u03b2-carotene concentration of 2.22 \u00b5g\/mL. The fortified oil exhibited significantly higher polyphenolic (17.37 \u00b1 2.04 mg GAE\/g), total flavonoid (11.33 \u00b1 0.89 mg QE\/g) contents, and antioxidant activity (9.78 \u00b1 0.53 mg TE\/g) compared with commercial coconut oil. The optimized oil demonstrated enhanced oxidative stability, reflected by lower peroxide (0.05 \u00b1 0.01 meqO2\/kg) and acid values (0.10 \u00b1 0.01 mg KOH\/g). The validated quadratic model and optimized process produced a nutritionally enriched, stable coconut oil, supporting its use as a clean-label functional ingredient. These findings highlight the potential of \u03b2-carotene-fortified oils to deliver provitamin A and antioxidant benefits. Future studies should focus on evaluating the bioavailability, storage stability, and sensory acceptability of \u03b2-carotene enriched coconut oil to confirm its nutritional and commercial potential.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods14223947","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T12:33:04Z","timestamp":1763469184000},"page":"3947","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Optimization of \u03b2-Carotene Enrichment of Coconut Oil from Canistel (Pouteria campechiana L.) Using Response Surface Methodology"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-5459-4559","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Harshaka Maduwantha","family":"Jans","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, Kaburupitiya, Matara 81000, Sri Lanka"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Madushi Chathurika","family":"Wijerathna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, Kaburupitiya, Matara 81000, Sri Lanka"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1265-3976","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ganwarige Sumali Nivanthi","family":"Fernando","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, Kaburupitiya, Matara 81000, Sri Lanka"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5769-175X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maryam S.","family":"Hafiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112452","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nut.2024.112452","article-title":"A Review on Vitamin A Deficiency and Depleted Immunity in South Asia: From Deficiency to Resilience","volume":"124","author":"Kumar","year":"2024","journal-title":"Nutrition"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"World Health Organization (WHO) (2025, August 18). Vitamin A deficiency. Nutrition Landscape Information System (NLiS). Available online: https:\/\/www.who.int\/data\/nutrition\/nlis\/info\/vitamin-a-deficiency."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zheng, X., Yang, Y., and Al-Babili, S. (2021). Exploring the Diversity and Regulation of Apocarotenoid Metabolic Pathways in Plants. Front. Plant Sci., 12.","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2021.787049"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e71024","DOI":"10.1002\/fsn3.71024","article-title":"Functional Foods Enriched with Bioactive Compounds: Therapeutic Potential and Technological Innovations","volume":"13","author":"Arshad","year":"2025","journal-title":"Food Sci. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"102275","article-title":"Fortified and Functional Foods: Trends, Innovations, and Their Public Health Impact for Future Nutrient Enrichment","volume":"23","author":"Hossain","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Res."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138818","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2024.138818","article-title":"Structural Characteristics and Stability Analysis of Coconut Oil Body and Its Application for Loading \u03b2-Carotene","volume":"446","author":"Tian","year":"2024","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116","DOI":"10.17660\/th2021\/76.3.2","article-title":"Fruit Characterization of Pouteria Campechiana ([Kunth] Baehni) in Three Different Stages of Maturity","volume":"76","year":"2021","journal-title":"Fruits"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105481","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jff.2023.105481","article-title":"Nutritional Value, Phytochemistry, Health Benefits, and Potential Food Applications of Pouteria Campechiana (Kunth) Baehni: A Comprehensive Review","volume":"103","author":"Do","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Funct. Foods"},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"102271","article-title":"Diversity and Genetic Structure of Kanist\u00e9 (Pouteria Campechiana), an Underutilized Tropical Fruit Tree Native to the Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula, Mexico","volume":"23","author":"Potter","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Res."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"32","article-title":"Extraction and Characterization of Natural Food Colorants from Canistel Fruit (Pouteria Campechiana): A Comprehensive Evaluation of Physicochemical Properties","volume":"5","author":"Ranasinghe","year":"2025","journal-title":"Adv. Technol."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e4289119917","DOI":"10.33448\/rsd-v9i11.9917","article-title":"Effects of Inulin and Canistel Addition in the Physical Characteristics of Fat-Reduced Processed Cheese","volume":"9","author":"Saraiva","year":"2021","journal-title":"Res. Soc. Dev."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1999","DOI":"10.1080\/10408398.2020.1867959","article-title":"A Comprehensive Review on Carotenoids in Foods and Feeds: Status Quo, Applications, Patents, and Research Needs","volume":"62","author":"Bantis","year":"2022","journal-title":"Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1809","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lwt.2011.03.017","article-title":"A Simple UV-Vis Spectrophotometric Method for Determination of \u03b2-Carotene Content in Raw Carrot, Sweet Potato and Supplemented Chicken Meat Nuggets","volume":"44","author":"Biswas","year":"2011","journal-title":"LWT Food Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9363692","DOI":"10.1155\/2022\/9363692","article-title":"Development of Analytical Methods for Determination of \u03b2-Carotene in Pumpkin (Cucurbita Maxima) Flesh, Peel, and Seed Powder Samples","volume":"2022","author":"Hagos","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. J. Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"AOAC International (2019). Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International, AOAC International. [21st ed.]."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"(2009). Animal and Vegetable Fats and Oils; Determination of Acid Value and Acidity (Standard No. ISO 660:2009)."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1158","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fuel.2012.10.011","article-title":"A Green Potentiometric Method for the Determination of the Iodine Number of Biodiesel","volume":"103","author":"Tubino","year":"2013","journal-title":"Fuel"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e23","DOI":"10.4081\/jae.2012.156","article-title":"Variation in Ultrasonic Frequency and Time as Pre-Treatments to Air-Drying of Carrot","volume":"43","author":"Abano","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Agric. Eng."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Milovanovic, B., Djekic, I., Miocinovic, J., Djordjevic, V., Lorenzo, J.M., Barba, F.J., M\u00f6rlein, D., and Tomasevic, I. (2020). What Is the Color of Milk and Dairy Products and How Is It Measured?. Foods, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/foods9111629"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sharma, M., and Bhat, R. (2021). Extraction of Carotenoids from Pumpkin Peel and Pulp: Comparison between Innovative Green Extraction Technologies (Ultrasonic and Microwave-Assisted Extractions Using Corn Oil). Foods, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/foods10040787"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Molole, G.J., Gure, A., and Abdissa, N. (2022). Determination of Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity of Commiphora Mollis (Oliv.) Engl. Resin. BMC Chem., 16.","DOI":"10.1186\/s13065-022-00841-x"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8780704","DOI":"10.1155\/2020\/8780704","article-title":"Total Phenolic, Flavonoid Contents, and Antioxidant Activities of Fruit, Seed, and Bark Extracts of Zanthoxylum Armatum DC","volume":"2020","author":"Phuyal","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. World J."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gulcin, \u0130., and Alwasel, S.H. (2023). DPPH Radical Scavenging Assay. Processes, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/pr11082248"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.4038\/jnsfsr.v36i1.136","article-title":"The Carotenoids of Pouteria Campechiana (Sinhala: Ratalawulu)","volume":"36","author":"Sumithraarachchi","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Natl. Sci. Found. Sri Lanka"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"90","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2017.07.099","article-title":"Carotenoid Extraction Methods: A Review of Recent Developments","volume":"240","author":"Saini","year":"2018","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.1080\/10942912.2016.1147460","article-title":"Degradation Kinetics of \u03b2-Carotene in Carrot Slices during Convective Drying","volume":"20","author":"Demiray","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Prop."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"200","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodres.2018.05.028","article-title":"Update on Natural Food Pigments\u2014A Mini-Review on Carotenoids, Anthocyanins, and Betalains","volume":"124","year":"2019","journal-title":"Food Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.17576\/jsm-2017-4602-07","article-title":"The Effect of Time, Temperature and Solid to Solvent Ratio on Pumpkin Carotenoids Extracted Using Food Grade Solvents","volume":"46","author":"Norshazila","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sains Malays."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"515","DOI":"10.1080\/10408390802565889","article-title":"Factors Influencing the Chemical Stability of Carotenoids in Foods","volume":"50","author":"Boon","year":"2010","journal-title":"Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"811","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfca.2011.04.009","article-title":"Thermal Degradation Kinetics of Lutein, \u03b2-Carotene and \u03b2-Cryptoxanthin in Virgin Olive Oils","volume":"24","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Food Compos. Anal."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3122","DOI":"10.1111\/1750-3841.15815","article-title":"Vegetable Oils as Green Solvents for Carotenoid Extraction from Pumpkin (Cucurbita Argyrosperma Huber) Byproducts: Optimization of Extraction Parameters","volume":"86","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Food Sci."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2692","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2621.2002.tb08800.x","article-title":"Thermal Degradation Kinetics of Carotenoids and Visual Color of Papaya Puree","volume":"67","author":"Ahmed","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Food Sci."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100552","DOI":"10.1016\/j.focha.2023.100552","article-title":"RSM and ANN Approach for Optimization of Ultrasonic Assisted Extraction of Pumpkin Seed Oil and Their Quality Assessment","volume":"3","author":"Singh","year":"2023","journal-title":"Food Chem. Adv."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"301","DOI":"10.1007\/s11746-009-1351-1","article-title":"Chemical Properties of Virgin Coconut Oil","volume":"86","author":"Marina","year":"2009","journal-title":"JAOCS J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Edge, R., and Truscott, T.G. (2018). Singlet Oxygen and Free Radical Reactions of Retinoids and Carotenoids\u2014A Review. Antioxidants, 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/antiox7010005"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2907","DOI":"10.1002\/jsfa.13183","article-title":"Natural Antioxidants Enhance the Oxidation Stability of Blended Oils Enriched in Unsaturated Fatty Acids","volume":"104","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Sci. Food Agric."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143752","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2025.143752","article-title":"Effects of Plant-Derived Antioxidants to the Oxidative Stability of Edible Oils under Thermal and Storage Conditions: Benefits, Challenges and Sustainable Solutions","volume":"479","author":"Yildiz","year":"2025","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2713","DOI":"10.1007\/s11694-020-00517-x","article-title":"Effects of Natural Antioxidants on the Palm Olein Quality during the Heating and Frying","volume":"14","author":"Yang","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Food Meas. Charact."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.24154\/jhs.v15i1.779","article-title":"Carotenoid Content in Cherry Tomatoes Correlated to the Color Space Values L*, a*, b*: A Non-Destructive Method of Estimation","volume":"15","author":"Pandurangaiah","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Hortic. Sci."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3094","DOI":"10.1007\/s13197-020-04813-8","article-title":"Physicochemical Characterization and Nutraceutical Compounds of the Selected Spice Fixed Oils","volume":"58","author":"Manasa","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Food Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Antony, A., and Farid, M. (2022). Effect of Temperatures on Polyphenols during Extraction. Appl. Sci., 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/app12042107"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rosell\u00f3-Soto, E., Mart\u00ed-Quijal, F.J., Cilla, A., Munekata, P.E.S., Lorenzo, J.M., Remize, F., and Barba, F.J. (2019). Influence of Temperature, Solvent and PH on the Selective Extraction of Phenolic Compounds from Tiger Nuts by-Products: Triple-TOF-LC-MS-MS Characterization. Molecules, 24.","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules24040797"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7339","DOI":"10.3390\/md13127069","article-title":"Carotenoids, Phenolic Compounds and Tocopherols Contribute to the Antioxidative Properties of Some Microalgae Species Grown on Industrial Wastewater","volume":"13","author":"Safafar","year":"2015","journal-title":"Mar. Drugs"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"478","DOI":"10.1016\/j.crfs.2021.07.006","article-title":"Enrichment of Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) Oil with Carotenoids of Sea Buckthorn Pomace via Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Technique: Enrichment of Flaxseed Oil with Sea Buckthorn","volume":"4","author":"Bhimjiyani","year":"2021","journal-title":"Curr. Res. Food Sci."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Marinaccio, L., Zengin, G., Bender, O., Dogan, R., Atalay, A., Masci, D., Flamminii, F., Stefanucci, A., and Mollica, A. (2024). Lycopene Enriched Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Biological Activities and Assessment of Security Profile on Cells. Food Biosci., 60.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fbio.2024.104466"}],"container-title":["Foods"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-8158\/14\/22\/3947\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T13:14:46Z","timestamp":1763471686000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-8158\/14\/22\/3947"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]]},"references-count":45,"journal-issue":{"issue":"22","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11]]}},"alternative-id":["foods14223947"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/foods14223947","relation":{},"ISSN":["2304-8158"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2304-8158","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]]}}}