Vol. 11, Special Issue 3 (2022)

Author(s):
Raghu A, Rita Narayanan, A Mangala Gowri, V Nithyalakshmi and Dorathy Pushparani

Abstract:
As people become more conscious of the toxicity of synthetic colours, there is a greater demand for pigments derived from natural sources. Increase in consumer demand for natural products with no chemical additives and certified dyes has necessitated the need to exploit food colourants of natural origin. Anthocyanins are gaining popularity due to potential health advantages. Present investigations were carried out to produce anthocyanin pigment as natural food colourant from Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. Solid-liquid extraction method was carried out with two different types of solvents viz. ethanol: distilled water (1:1 v/v) and distilled water, acidified with food grade citric acid in the range from 0.5% to 3% in order to recover maximum anthocyanin from the fresh flowers of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. Acidified distilled water extract with maximum TPC, TMA and AA value were chosen as a standardized extract and values were found to be 5180.50±0.02 mg GAE/100g, 191.73±0.01 mg C3G/100g, 87.92±0.06%. This Natural food colourant finds applications in food products like dairy and beverage industry by replacing the existing synthetic colourants.