Among the many pigments that give food its distinctive hue, the chlorophyll in plants, the yellow-orange-red carotenoids in fruits, the red-blue-purple anthocyanins in vegetables, and
the red betanin. These pigments can also be found in food products, either through direct addition or through livestock feed. Research into their health benefits has dominated recent studies; earlier studies were motivated by their color.
In light of consumer concerns over artificial food dye safety and the potential health benefits of natural pigments, natural colors are currently a marketing trend. On the other hand, natural colorants tend to be less stable, more expensive, more difficult to use, require more material to achieve the same color strength, and have a smaller range of hues than synthetic colors.
Motivated by concerns for one’s well-being, Many studies have been done on natural pigments such as carotenoids, which have accumulated a substantial body of literature. Based on the past two years of research in Food Science in this area, there are five main areas of study: composition and influencing factors, search for plant and microbial sources, increase in pigment content and stability, and bioavailability, processing effects, and health effects.
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The carotenoid composition of foods is being studied worldwide, focusing on indigenous and less well-known crops currently. Several countries have their carotenoid databases, focusing on the main carotenoids in food: -carotene, -carotene, -cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Furthermore, many factors have been examined to determine how the composition is affected. If you want t know more, contact any nearby natural food color manufacturer.
The total anthocyanin content of anthocyanins has been extensively analyzed in quantitative studies of these pigments. There has been an increase in the number of papers reporting individual anthocyanin concentrations and the factors that have influenced them in recent years.
According to research, phenolic bioactive forms have been shown to exist in the human Body in conjugates or metabolites rather than the original phenolic compounds themselves. Anthocyanins, for instance, include
It is possible to divide betalains into betacyanins and betaxanthins, both red-violet. Plant betacyanin betanin is the most common betacyanin in nature. Beetroot has long been considered the only source of betanin, and the FDA’s list of approved color additives only includes dehydrated beets (beet powder).
An enormous amount of time and energy has been expended to pursue blue colorants. Organic blue compounds originate from plants, animals, microbial, and synthetic sources. Compared to other colors, blue metabolites are rare, and structural trends common to blue compounds in nature are identified.
Although the focus on the health benefits of natural pigments may have diverted attention away from their color properties during processing and storage, in the end, they serve as a strong justification for their retention as natural constituents of foods and their use as food and feed additives.” Microencapsulation and nanoencapsulation have been implemented as a natural food color solution to the problem of instability.