Plant Extracts: Natural Food Coloring-Add Color To Life, Add Health To Life

The color of food is an important factor in the sensory quality of food. People often use a food additive-food coloring when making food. Food coloring has two categories: natural food coloring and synthetic food coloring.

Nowadays, most people demand that food ingredients return to nature and food diversification, and people have gradually formed a consensus on health and environmental protection awareness. Most natural plant pigments have no side effects and are highly safe. Natural food coloring is very popular in the food industry, and its development speed and space are huge.

Natural practical pigments can be divided into carmine, anthocyanins, caramel, carmine, carotenoids, chlorophyll, spirulina, turmeric, sugar beet, etc. according to their types.

Anthocyanins are a type of natural pigments, which are found in fruits and vegetables, making them appear red to blue.

Another major category of natural food coloring with nutritional properties is carotenoids. Carotenoids are widely distributed in nature, generally showing yellow, orange and red. Most fruits and vegetables contain a mixture of carotenoids. The extracts obtained from these fruits and vegetables are an important source of human essential nutrients. It has been confirmed that there are 600 different carotenoids in nature.

β-carotene is the most common carotenoid and has been widely used in food processing. β-carotene has been used in butter and margarine for many years. It not only provides these products with a yellow hue, but also Can provide vitamin A, this is mainly because β-carotene can be converted into vitamin A in the human body. There are regulations in many countries that margarine must be added with vitamins. Therefore, β-carotene has become a source of vitamin A.

Lutein is a yellow pigment from marigold. Lutein is an antioxidant that can fight spot degeneration (a disease that causes blindness in the elderly).

Spirulina extract is a natural blue pigment, protein pigment.

Cuttlefish juice powder is a natural melanin that can be used as food and beverage additives.

Lycopene is a bright red pigment, it is a strong antioxidant and can prevent many kinds of cancer.

Curcumin also has antioxidant properties as well as anti-inflammatory properties.

As the body needs management and health needs management awareness and rationality gradually gains popularity, more plant extracts-natural practical pigments will add color to life to a greater extent, and health to life.