Session 2 - Technology, Biotechnology and Processing Pigments in Food VII, 2013 227 NATURAL HYDROXYANTHRAQUINOID PIGMENTS: CURRENT SITUATION AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES IN FOOD Caro Y., Fouillaud M., Laurent P., Dufossé L. Laboratoire de Chimie des Substances Naturelles et des Sciences des Aliments, Université de la Réunion, Sainte-Clotilde, Ile de la Réunion, France e-mail: laurent.dufosse@univ-reunion.fr Introduction Natural colorants are widely used in the world in many industries such as food processing. Among the natural products of interest are various compounds belonging to carotenoids, anthocyanins, chlorophylls, melanins, betalains… Common natural colorants include turmeric, curcumin, annatto, paprika and cochineal extract or carmine. Carmine is a naturally derived red dye extracted from cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) insect. The brilliant red colour of carmine is due to the carminic acid, i.e. a red hydroxyanthraquinoid compound, secreted into intracellular vesicles of female cochineal. Carmine is allowed and widely used as a colouring agent in food processes to provide red hues. Its water insoluble form is used to color sausage products, bakery and dairy products, confectionery, etc. Carmine is considered as one of the most stable natural colorant in terms of light and heat; however supply issues over the last few years, leading to price pressures have sent manufacturers looking for natural alternatives that achieve similar red hues in foods. Synthetic replacements are however less attractive as the industry looks toward clean and natural labelling. Nature is rich in pigments with anthraquinoid skeleton (insects, plants, lichens, etc.) and anthraquinonoid pigment-producing microorganisms (filamentous fungi...) are quite common. Anthraquinoid pigments like carminic acid are derivatives of the basic structure 9,10- anthracenedione, i.e. a tricyclic aromatic organic compound with formula C 14 H 8 O 2 and whose ketone groups are on the central ring in position C-9 and C-10. Figure 1: The skeleton structure of anthraquinoid derivatives.