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Astaxanthin is an antioxidant that can be extracted from crustaceans such as shrimp, lobster, crawfish, and crabs. Fermented Acetes shrimp (called cincalok) is a traditional side dish from Indonesia rich in astaxanthin. This study extracted astaxanthin from cincalok using the glass beads vortex method with virgin coconut oil (VCO) as a green solvent. Several parameters that affect the amount of astaxanthin extracted, such as the ratio between sample and solvent, contact time, and particle size of glass beads, have been tested. The physicochemical characteristics of VCO before and after extraction were also analyzed. The UV-Vis spectrophotometer analysis results showed that the optimum ratio between sample and solvent was 1:10 g/mL, the optimum contact time was 15 minutes, and the optimum particle size of the glass beads was 60–80 mesh. Under these optimum conditions, the amount of astaxanthin extracted was 27.97 μg/g dry weight of cincalok or 2.79 μg/mL VCO. After extraction, the viscosity and density of VCO still meet the Indonesian National Standard with values of 17.98 mm2/s and 917.2 kg/m3, respectively. Before and after extraction, the GC-MS chromatogram shows the main component of fatty acids in VCO is lauric acid, with a percentage of 27.28 and 26.72%, respectively. VCO can also extract omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA from cincalok with the same rate of 0.04%.

Shrimp species have been reported to contain astaxanthin, which has high antioxidant activities. They also contain omega-3 in the form of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which can act as photoprotective agents that maintain healthy skin from reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to exposure to UV rays. In addition, fermentation has become an essential pre-treatment to extract the bioactive components in shrimp more easily. This study aims to extract oil from cincalok, a traditional Indonesian (especially in West Kalimantan) food made from Acetes shrimp fermented for 7–15 days. Cincalok oil was added to the lotion as a bioactive additive and sunscreen. Cincalok oil was extracted by the soxhletation method using n-hexane as solvent. The oil was then analyzed for its physicochemical properties, including density, viscosity, possible heavy metal contamination, and the profile of the fatty acids contained. The yield of cincalok oil extraction was 1.09 ± 0.05%, with the highest fatty acid content of 21.70% palmitic acid, 10.99% DHA, and 10.33% EPA. Cincalok oil also contains astaxanthin of 0.38 ± 0.02 mg/L oil. It has a viscosity of 69.71 ± 0.12 cP with a density of 0.93 ± 0.03 g/cm3. The analysis data of ICP-AES shows that there is no heavy metal contamination. The SPF value produced from cincalok oil lotion at 5 and 10% variations of cincalok oil was 15.17 ± 0.09 and 30.28 ± 0.49, respectively. The SPF value of lotion with the addition of cincalok oil was much greater than that of the base lotion, which was 2.16 ± 0.12.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-starch-based bioplastics are widely used in many applications. pH-responsive plastic packaging was produced through the incorporation of senggani (Melastoma malabathricum Linn.) fruit extract into PVA-taro starch-based plastic packaging. The objective of this research was to examine the characteristics of senggani fruit extract under different pH conditions and explore its application as a pH indicator in intelligent packaging. The senggani fruit was extracted through the maceration method using a solvent comprising 96% ethanol and 3% citric acid, with a ratio of 85:15 (v/v). The senggani fruit extract solution underwent color changes, appearing pink at pH levels below 6, pale purple at pH 7-11, and brownish-yellow at pH 12-14. Notably, the color of the senggani fruit extract solution remained stable at pH < 5. Before the addition of the senggani fruit extract, the PVA-taro starch solution produced a brownish-yellow plastic packaging. However, following the addition of senggani fruit extract, the plastic packaging turned pink. The addition of senggani fruit extract affected the mechanical properties of plastic packaging, resulting in a reduction in swelling from 103.679 ± 2.456% to 57.827 ± 3.563%, a decrease in tensile strength value from 3.827 ± 0.603 Mpa to 1.991 ± 0.460 Mpa, and a decline in the percent elongation value from 156.250 ± 12.392% to 116 ± 6.722%. Plastic packaging incorporating senggani fruit extract exhibits color changes across the pH range of 1-14, accompanied by varying color parameter values (L, a, b, E, and WI). Therefore, it has the potential to be used as intelligent packaging for monitoring food freshness and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sensitizer is one of the most essential dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) components. In the present research, a Znastaxanthin complex was investigated as a sensitizer, compared to pure astaxanthin. The complex with a 1:1 mole ratio between astaxanthin and Zn2+ was synthesized in a reflux reactor at 37-60 °C. The product was analyzed using Proton Nuclear Resonance (1H-NMR), which indicates the presence of chelate formation between Zn2+ with two atoms of oxygen on the terminal cyclohexane ring of astaxanthin. The interaction of sensitizers (astaxanthin and Zn-astaxanthin) on the photoelectrode surface in this study was analyzed using a Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) and Ultraviolet-Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS). The FTIR spectra of photoelectrode immersed in Zn-astaxanthin show peaks of C=O stretching and vibration -OH group at 1730 and 1273 cm-, respectively, and H-C-H stretching vibration with high intensity in 2939, 2923, and 2853 cm-. The UV-Vis DRS analysis shows the band gap of photoelectrode (PE), photoelectrode immersed in astaxanthin (PE/astaxanthin), and Zn-astaxanthin (PE/Zn-astaxanthin) are 3.19, 1.65, and 1.59 eV, respectively. Under illumination intensity of 300 W/m2, the maximum energy conversion efficiency of DSSC with Zn-astaxanthin as sensitizer is (0.03 + 0.0022)%, higher than DSSC with astaxanthin as sensitizer ((0.12 + 0.0052)%). Up to 70 h of illumination, DSSC with Zn-astaxanthin as a sensitizer also has better stability than astaxanthin-based DSSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]