抄録
Consumers' demand for the replacement of synthetic color additives, along with the technical difficulties encountered with the use of natural colorants, has intensified research in this area. Currently, commercial natural colorants are derived mainly from a number of plant sources of carotenoids, anthocyanins, betanin, and chlorophylls, augmented by carotenoids obtained by microbial fermentation. The meticulous studies on the structural features, stability, and transformations during food processing and storage are providing a wealth of information on how to handle these notoriously unstable compounds. New and economically viable plant sources of anthocyanins and betacyanin and optimization of microalgal production of carotenoids to guarantee economic feasibility on an industrial scale are being pursued. Efficient and green extraction, stabilization methods, production of high quality colorants with wide color spectrum, and appraisal of human health effects are also important research objectives. Encapsulation, microencapsulation and nanoencapsulation are widely evaluated as stabilizing techniques.
