• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.263-274
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• 2000

Carotenoids are widely distributed natural pigments which are in an increasing demand by the market, due to their applicatins in the human food, animal feed, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. Although more than 600 carotenoids have been identified in nature, only a few are industrially important (${\beta}$-carotene, astaxanthin, lutein or lycopene). To date chemical processes manufacture most of the carotenoid production, but the interest for carotenoids of biological origin is growing since theire is an increased public concern over the safety of artificial food colorants. Although much interest and effort has been devoted to the use of biological sources for industrially important carotenoids, only the production of biological ${\beta}$-carotene and astaxanthin has been reported. Among fungi, several Mucorales strains, particularly Blakeslea trispora, have been used to develop fermentation processes for the production of ${\beta}$-carotene on almost competitive cost-price levels. Similarly, the basidiomycetous yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (the perfect state of Phaffia rhodozyma), has been proposed as a promising source of astaxanthin. This paper focuses on recent findings on the fungal pathways for carotenoid production, especially the structure and function of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of carotenoids in the Mucorales. An outlook of the possibilities of an increased industrial production of carotenoids, based on metabolic engineering of fungi for carotenoid content and composition, is also discussed.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.285-290
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• 2000

Color values of anthocyanins from seven natural food colorants, such as purple-fleshed sweet potato (PSP), red flower cabbage (RFC), red cabbage (RC), grape skin (GS), black rice (BR), egg plant (EP), and fig fruit (FF) were evaluated, resulting in the selection of four color sources with higher color values including PSP, RFC, RC and GS. The stabilities of anthocyanins from the selected colorant sources against metal ions, ascorbic acid, ultra-violet light, and heating were investigated. Anthocyanins from PSP and GS were degraded significantly by $Mn^{2+}$, while those from RFC and RC were degraded by $Cu^{2+}$. Asthocyanins from PSP were the most stable against the color-degrading factors, followed by RFC, RC, and GS in descending order.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.160-171
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• 2021

Synthetic azo dyes are used extensively in herbal medicines to render the medicines more visually attractive to consumers. This study developed and validated a rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to determine whether synthetic colorants such as Tartrazine, Auramine O, Metanil yellow, Sunset yellow, and Orange II are used extensively in Typha orientalis. To increase the recovery of the synthetic dyes, this method employed containing 50 mM ammonium acetate in 70 % methanol at first extraction and 100 mM HCl in 70 % methanol at second extraction. Five synthetic pigments in Typha orientalis were separated by gradient elution with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 50 mM ammonium acetate in distilled water at ultra-violet (UV) detection 428 nm or 500 nm. Additionally, this study established the liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to confirm positive samples suspected by HPLC results. The HPLC-UV method had good linearity, indicating r²> 0.999. The recoveries of the samples spiked with three different concentration ranged from 73.8~91.5 %, and relative standard deviation values indicated 0.2~5.2 %. The established LC-MS/MS could successfully identify the synthetic pigments in herbal medicine samples. The study demonstrates that Typha orientalis adulterated by yellowish synthetic dyes can be successfully distinguished when using the HPLC-UV method.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.631-639
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of macaroons prepared using natural color materials (Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten (Re-N), mulberry leaf (Gr-N), pumpkin (Ye-N), and cocoa powder (Br-N)) and corresponding artificial food colorants (red (Re-A), yellow (Ye-A), green (Gr-A) and brown (Br-A)). The moisture content of macaroons prepared using natural color material was higher compared to the macaroons prepared using artificial food colorant. DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity was similar in both types of macaroons. Lightness and redness of Re-N, Gr-N, Ye-N, and Br-N macaroons were lower than Re-A, Gr-A, Ye-A and Br-A macaroons. Yellowness of Re-N was higher because of the browning reaction. The texture profile analysis revealed lower hardness when natural color powder was employed. In the sensory evaluation, overall acceptability was not significantly different between natural colored and artificial colored macaroons. As a result, macaroons with the natural color material were softer and showed higher antioxidative activity, however, organoleptic properties were not much different when compared with macaroons with artificial colors. Apparently, it is stated that more studies on the development of macaroons with more enhanced physical functionality and good taste using natural materials should be performed.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.76-81
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• 2008

Currently, natural food colorants and preservatives are being used for their general health benefits. Monascus koji, the product of certain fungi that grow on rice grains, has been added to many foods for coloring and preservation. In this study, the antimicrobial activities of Monascus koji ethanol extracts were investigated. Six Monascus strains (M. araneosus KFRI 00371, M. kaoliang ATCC 46597, M. pilosus IFO 4520, M. purpureus IFO 4482, M. ruber IFO 32318 and M. sp. ATCC 16437) were selected based on their relative intensity of red pigment. Two Monascus extracts, M. kaoliang ATCC 46597 and M. purpureus IFO 4482, displayed antimicrobial activities against Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhimurium in concentration-dependent manners. The two extracts showed their strongest antimicrobial activity against S. typhimurium, a cause of food poisoning. Therefore, these results suggest that Monascus koji could be used as a natural food colorant and preservative.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.129-133
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• 2015

The antioxidant potentials of ten kinds of medicinal plants used as natural dyeing agents were tested. Among the plant extracts and floral waters that were examined in this study, the antioxidant activities of the DPPH and ABTS radical scavengers increased with increasing amounts of the extracts. The hot-water extracts from Aphis chinensis, Caesalpinia sappan L., Rumex crispus L., and Areca catechu effectively inhibited the DPPH and ABTS radicals at concentration below 0.1 mg/mL. The floral water obtained through steam distillation from Areca catechu, Rubia akane Nakai, Coptis chinensis, and Phellodendron amurense showed relatively valid antioxidant activities. In particular, the natural colorants extracted from Rumex crispus L., Areca catechu, and Aphis chinensis effectively suppressed the photogenerated singlet oxygen induced by a photosensitizer in in-vitro assay systems. The concentrations ($IC_{50}$) of the hot-water Aphis chinensis extract required to exert a 50% reduction effect on DPPH, ABTS, and singlet oxygen were found to be 8.5, 8.0, and $210{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The study results suggest that extracts derived from naturally occurring colorants as well as floral waters could be used as natural antioxidants in the food and health-care industries.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.285-292
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• 2008

Crocin is one of the major components of gardenia fruit and saffron which are widely used as natural food colorants and as traditional Chinese medicines. However, the genotoxicity data on crocin are not sufficient for safety evaluation. The purpose of this study was the examination of the genotoxicity on crocin from gardenia yellow in bacterial and mammalian cells, using various genotoxic battery testing assays and the influence of crocin on methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and ${H_2}{O_2}$-induced DNA damage in vitro, using single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay. From results, no considerable mutagenicity and clastogenicity were seen in bacteria and mammalian cells treated with crocin, by Ames test, chromosomal aberration assay, ${tk}^{+/-}$ gene forward mutation assay and comet assay. And, post-treatment with crocin significantly suppressed ${H_2}{O_2}$-induced DNA damage in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, the findings of the present study and other previous observations indicate that crocin has no genotoxic potential. And it showed that crocin clearly repressed the genotoxic potency of ${H_2}{O_2}$. These results suggest that anti-oxidative effects of crocin may be involved in the protective effects of DNA damage.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.335-341
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• 2019

Beta-carotene is the most prominent member of the group of carotenoids, natural colorants that occur in the human diet. Beta-carotene is also an effective source of vitamin A in both conventional foods and vitamin supplements, and it's generally safe. In this study, we explored the beta-carotene contents in agricultural products widely and specifically grown in Korea. The beta-carotene contents were ranging from 223 to $27,908{\mu}g/100g$ in leaves, and 0 to $7,588{\mu}g/100g$ in vegetables. In leaves and vegetables, the amount of beta-carotene was the highest in green tea powder ($27,908{\mu}g/100g$), followed by pepper ($7,588{\mu}g/100g$). In fruits, the beta-carotene content was found to range from $0{\mu}g/1,011g$ to maximum of $293.66{\mu}g/100g$(plumcot). However, there beta-carotene was not detected in strawberry. In the case of cereals and specialty crops, the beta-carotene contents were $326{\mu}g/100g$ for non-glutinous rice, $313{\mu}g/100g$ for glutinous rice, $57{\mu}g/100g$ for amaranth and $15{\mu}g/100g$ for pine nut, respectively. However, the beta-carotene content was not detected in other samples. This study revealed the presence of beta-carotene content in agricultural products specifically grown in Korea for nutritional information and food composition database.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.249-261
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• 2014

This study was performed in order to grasp the trends of elementary school children and their parents on their purchasing behavior of processed foods, awareness of food additives and its education experience by analyzing the safety assessment reports of food additives in 2008~2013. The most important factor in purchasing processed foods was safety in both groups followed by nutrition in parents and taste in children, respectively. While purchasing foods, the first item that is checked has been shifted from food additives to the origin of the products. Parents still perceived food additives as the most hazardous factor for food safety; however, recently, children began to regard microbial contaminants as being most hazardous, which is regarded as a desirable educational effect. The most concerned food additives were preservatives, synthetic seasoning and colorants in both groups. However, the awareness level on food additives still remained low as 3.0~3.1/5.0 for parents and 2.4~2.9/5.0 for children. Educational experience on food additives increased in children from 12% in 2008 to 25% in 2013; however, it decreased in parents from 23% in 2008 to 15% in 2013. Information needs for food additives by education and promotion were very high both in parents (4.2~4.5) and children (3.8~4.1). Both groups had an interest in the safety, legal standards of food additives, and foods with food additives, in order. The most reliable resource institutions on food additives were university/research institute and hospital for parents, but, hospital and government for children. The preferred media on food additives were TV and the internet for parents, and school newsletter and TV for children. Overall, the above results demonstrated that the perceptions on food additives did not change much with parents during the last 6 years; however, children's perceptions began to show improvement with the increase of educational experience. Hence, the government needs to make efforts to increase the trust level of consumers by developing educational tools and providing educational experiences including mass media for the promotion of risk communication on food additives.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.416-421
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pH, temperature, light, sugars, and organic acids on the stability of anthocyanin pigments extracted from aronia (Aroniamelanocarpa). Pigments from aronia were most stable at pH 3.0, with maximal absorbance at 514 nm. High temperatures and prolonged heating substantially reduced anthocyanin contents. Anthocyanin levels were as low as approximately 21.70 and 79.63% of normal levels after 300 min of heating at 30 and $100^{\circ}C$, respectively. All of the sugars tested decreased the abundance of aronia pigments, with the levels highest in the presence of maltose, and decreasing progressively in the presence of galactose, sucrose, glucose, and fructose. Among the organic acids tested, citric acid was the most effective in stabilizing the aronia pigment, followed by tartaric acid, malic acid, formic acid, and ascorbic acid. These results provide useful reference data for efforts to use pigments from aronia in processed foods or for developing natural food colorants.