Interested in betalains and betalain-containing plant extracts?
Plant pigments betalains have emerged as novel phytochemicals of potential application in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries due to their natural colorant and fluorescent properties, potent antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities, and in vivo health-promoting potential. With cutting-edge capabilities, our company offers reference substances and support in analysis and production of tailor-made betalains in established and emerging areas.
NOVEL COLORANTS
Betanin from red beet is a commonly used red food colorant. Betanin is approved for food applications by the European Union (E-162) and in the United States under Section 73.40 in the Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as natural red colorant in food products, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic.
Cactus pear pulp, which mainly contain indicaxanthin, has been encapsulated in microparticles as yogurt food colorant (DOI: 10.1016/j.lwt.2020.110672), in the same line gummy candies were enriched with betanin improving the stability and the nutritional profile of the candy (DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.02.114). Red cactus pear extract (Opuntia stricta) was used instead of sodium nitrite (E-250) and cochineal (E-120) in the preparation of salami improving the microbiological stability (DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.01.025). Moreover, the antioxidant capacity reported for these molecules can be used to improve the shelf-life of processed foods and drinks.
Cactus pear pulp, which mainly contain indicaxanthin, has been encapsulated in microparticles as yogurt food colorant (DOI: 10.1016/j.lwt.2020.110672), in the same line gummy candies were enriched with betanin improving the stability and the nutritional profile of the candy (DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.02.114). Red cactus pear extract (Opuntia stricta) was used instead of sodium nitrite (E-250) and cochineal (E-120) in the preparation of salami improving the microbiological stability (DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.01.025). Moreover, the antioxidant capacity reported for these molecules can be used to improve the shelf-life of processed foods and drinks.
