There has been a pronounced upsurge in interest in food colorants of natural origin. The anthocyanins are well known but they are unstable and sensitive to pH. Recently a new group of anthocyanins show good promise as food colorants. Pigments from Tradescentia dracaenoides have multiple acyl groups on the molecule which lends stability on storage when formulated into foods. In effect, these pigments show high coloration at high pH values whereas conventional anthocyanins are nearly colorless at pH values above 4. Purified pigment extracts will be formulated into sugar, citrate/phosphate model beverages and pectin gel preparations for storage studies. Color will be monitored by tristimulus colorimetry. A new method of analysis will be developed to monitor anthocyanin degradation, since conventional methods do not work. A new method of purifying the crude pigment extracts will also be developed. The pigment will be isolated and identified using resin columns, HPLC, paper chromatography and spectrophotmetry.
