Biochemical Engineering Journal 14 (2003) 217–225 Review Acylated anthocyanins from edible sources and their applications in food systems M. Mónica Giusti a,∗ , Ronald E. Wrolstad b a Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, 3304 Marie Mount Hall, College Park, MD 20742, USA b Department of Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA Received 19 July 2002; accepted 2 November 2002 Abstract There is considerable demand for food colorants from natural sources that can serve as alternatives to the use of synthetic dyes due to both legislative action and consumer concerns over the use of synthetic additives. Interest in anthocyanin-rich foods and extracts has intensified because of their possible health benefits. Anthocyanins are potent antioxidants and may be chemoprotective. Optimizing health and performance through the diet is believed to be one of the largest and most lucrative markets in the US, and throughout the world. Findings of acylated anthocyanins with increased stability have shown that these pigments may impart desirable color and stability for commercial food products. Examples of suitable acylated anthocyanin sources may be radishes, red potatoes, red cabbage, black carrots, and purple sweet potatoes. Among these, radishes and red potatoes stand out as potential alternatives for the use of FD&C Red No. 40 (allura red). Maraschino cherries with bright attractive and stable red color were obtained with radish extract. Radish and potato extracts imparted color characteristics to model juices extremely close to those of allura red. Other potential applications for acylated anthocyanins may include other challenging systems such as dairy products. The increased stability of these pigments together with their added value due to potential beneficial effects opens a new window of opportunities for use of these extracts in a variety of food applications. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Acylated anthocyanins; Natural food colorants; Color stability; Pigment stability; CIEL ∗ ch; Chromatography; Treatment 1. Introduction Color plays a very important role in the acceptability of foods. Consumers first judge the quality of a food product by its color, and the food industry has used colorants for centuries to enhance or restore original appearance of foods or to ensure uniformity, as indicator of food quality. Color is a vital constituent of foods because it is one of the first characteristics perceived by the senses and is used by con- sumers for the rapid identification and ultimate acceptance of foods [1]. The safety of synthetic colorants has been questioned in the past years, leading to a reduction in the number of per- mitted colorants. Interest in natural colorants has signifi- cantly increased as a consequence of both legislative action and consumer awareness to the use of synthetic additives in their foods. Anthocyanins comprise a diverse group of intensely col- ored pigments responsible for the appealing and often spec- tacular orange, red purple and blue colors of many fruits, ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-301-405-5421; fax: +1-301-314-9327. E-mail address: mg237@umail.umd.edu (M.M. Giusti). vegetables, flowers, leaves, roots and other plant storage organs. They are water soluble, which facilitates their in- corporation into aqueous food systems [2], and have been consumed for centuries without adverse effects. Besides the color attributes, interest in anthocyanins has intensified because of their possible health benefits. Health benefits associated with anthocyanin extracts in- clude enhancement of sight acuteness [3], antioxidant capacity [4–8], treatment of various blood circulation dis- orders resulting from capillary fragility [4], vaso-protective and anti-inflammatory properties [9], inhibition of platelet aggregation [10], maintenance of normal vascular perme- ability [4], controlling diabetes, anti-neoplastic and chemo- protective agents [11,12], radiation-protective agents [13], and possibly others due to their diverse action on various enzymes and metabolic processes [4]. These qualities make anthocyanins attractive alternatives to synthetic dyes. Some limitations that have restricted the use of natural colorants in food systems are their relatively low stability to several processing, formulation and storage conditions, and that they may impart undesirable odor or flavor charac- teristics. Successful applications of red cabbage and radish extracts as coloring agents in foods have only been possible 1369-703X/03/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S1369-703X(02)00221-8