After nearly two decades of research an international team claims to have found a naturally derived cyan blue colour extracted from red cabbage that could replace synthetic blue dye often used in the food industry.
After nearly two decades of research an international team claims to have found a naturally derived cyan blue colour extracted from red cabbage that could replace synthetic blue dye often used in the food industry.
Scientists at the University of California, Davis say they have developed a naturally derived cyan blue colorant made from anthocyanin pigments – the pigments that give red, purple, and blue plants their rich colouring – in red cabbage.
According to the researchers, the new colour – made using an enzyme to convert a range of anthocyanins to one with the ideal wavelength – remains highly stable over time and may also produce better green colours than those derived from existing natural blue colorants and in larger amounts.
Researchers have discovered a brilliant blue food coloring.
The new cyan blue, obtained from red cabbage, could be an alternative to synthetic blue food colorings such as the widely used FD&C Blue Number 1.
“Blue colors are really quite rare in nature a lot of them are really reds and purples,” says Pamela Denish, a graduate student working with Justin Siegel at the University of California, Davis, chemistry department and Innovation Institute for Food and Health.
Having the right blue color is also important for mixing other colors, such as green. If the blue isn’t right, it will produce muddy, brown colors when mixed, Siegel says.
New cyan blue could be an alternative to synthetic blue food colorings
Blue ice cream made with the new pigment.
April 15, 2021
A natural brilliant blue food coloring has been discovered by an international team of researchers including chemists at the University of California, Davis. Natural food colorings are in demand, and the new cyan blue, obtained from red cabbage, could be an alternative to synthetic blue food colorings such as the widely used FD&C Blue No. 1. The U.S. National Science Foundation-funded work is published in
The researchers have developed an enzyme to make the blue color in usable quantities. Blue colors are really quite rare in nature a lot of them are really reds and purples, said researcher Pamela Denish.
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