Annatto and saffron

Annatto seeds have long been used by the South American Indians as a traditional medicine for healing of wounds, skin eruptions, healing of bums, and 

Annatto is well established in the market and its use is increasing in poundage probably due to its superior technological properties. If some of the health claims prove to be true, annatto will enjoy increased interest. Saffron is well established in the gourmet markets but its use will be restrained because of its high price. 

Annatto is one of the oldest eolorants, dating back to antiquity for coloring food, cosmetics and textiles. Annatto is produced from the seeds of the tropical shrub Bixa Orellana. Saffron is also a very old colorant dating back to the 23rd century BC. It is produeed from the dried stigmas of the flowers of the crocus bulb. Crocus saliva. Saffron is known as the gourmet spice because it produces a desirable flavor and eolor. Its high price is assured because it takes about 

065 mg/kg/day for armatto based on studies nearly 40 years ago. Crurcnt research is rmder way to increase the ADI. Little data is available for saffron but the chemical similarity to the pigments in armatto, and other carotenoids, worrld suggest that saffron would pose no problems in the food supply. 

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In addition to the U.S. certified coal-tar colorants, some noncertified naturally occurring plant and animal colorants, such as alkanet, annatto [1393-63-17, carotene [36-884] C qH, chlorophyll [1406-65-17, cochineal [1260-17-9] saffron [138-55-6] and henna [83-72-7], can be used in cosmetics. In the United States, however, natural food colors, such as beet extract or powder, turmeric, and saffron, are not allowed as cosmetic colorants. 

The most commonly used natural carotenoid extracts for foodstuffs are annatto, paprika, and saffron. Many other sources, including alfalfa, carrot, tomato, citrus peel, and palm oil, are also utilized. 

Some carotenoid pigments are used as fresh or dried plant parts or extracts (so-called oleoresins) to impart colour to food (e.g. carrots, orange peels, tomatoes, saffron, annatto and paprika, which is made from dried and ground fruits of various Capsicum species and cultivars). Palm oil containing carotenoid pigments is also used for the same purpose. 

Some colors are nutrients in their own right, and they have antioxidant properties that are beneficial to health. Beta-carotene, annatto, saffron, and turmeric all have these good properties in addition to their color. In fact, the same chemistry that makes them absorb light also helps them to absorb and neutralize dangerous oxygen free radicals in the body. 

Annatto provides color in cheese, butter, margarine, and microwave popcorn. It is often used as a substitute for the expensive herb saffron. It also has antioxidant properties. 

Beta-carotene is used in foods to provide color (margarine would look as white as vegetable shortening without it). Another similar molecule, annatto, is used in cheeses. Another famous carotenoid dye, saffron, is used to color rice and other foods. 

Spices snch as paprika, saffron, and annatto, which are traditionally employed in different parts of the world, contain nniqne carotenoids. Fignre 4.2.2 shows the strnctnres of these carotenoids. 

FIGURE 4.2.2 Structures of carotenoids found in paprika (capsanthin and capsombin), saffron and gardenia (crocetin derivatives), and annatto (bixin and norbixin). 

Detailed information about carotenoids found in food or extracted from food and evaluated for their potential as food colorants appeared in Sections 4.2 and 6.2. We would like to mention some new data about the utilization of pure carotenoid molecules or extracts as allowed food additives. Looking to the list of E-coded natural colorants (Table 7.2.1), we can identify standardized colorants E160a through f, E 161a, and E161b as natural or semi-synthetic derivatives of carotenoids provided from carrots, annatto, tomatoes, paprika, and marigold. In addition, the extracts (powders or oleoresins) of saffron, - paprika, and marigold are considered more economical variants in the United States and European Union. 

The main representatives of direct dyes are turmeric, annatto, saffron, and orchil. They are directly bound to fibres. Most of the colourants present in these dyestuffs can be easily extracted by water or alcohols. 

Exempt colors do not have to undergo formal FDA certification requirements, hut are monitored for purity. The colorants exempt from FD C certification are annatto extract, /i-carolene, beet powder, 0-apo—8 -carntenol. canlhaxanthin. caramel, carmine, carrot oil. cochineal extract, cottonseed Hour, ferrous gluconate, fruit juices, grape skin extract, paprika, paprika oleoresin. riboflavin, saffron, titanium dioxide, turmeric, turmeric oleoresin. ultramarine blue, and vegetable juices. See also Colorants (Foods). 

Colouring Matters.—In Italy butter may be coloured, but not with certain prohibited colouring matters, such as Martius yellow, Victoria yellow and metanil yellow. As a rule annatto is used, but sometimes also saffron or turmeric, and rarely carotin coal-tar colours (aniline yellow, butter yellow) are also employed. 

Various natural pigments, including carotenoids, are widely used as additives to provide an attractive colour to manufactured foods (Nir et al., 1993 Antony and Shankaranarayana, 2001 Baker, 2001). Natural extracts have been used for this purpose for centuries, especially annatto, saffron, tomato, paprika and red palm oil. In the food industry, carotenoids are prepared in oily or aqueous mecha, including emulsions, colloidal suspensions, and complexes with proteins (Klaui, 1979). These preparations find widespread applications in margarine, butter, fmit juices and beverages, canned soups, dairy products, desserts and mixes, preserves and symps, sugar and flour confectionery, salad dressings, meat, pasta, and egg products. Carotenoids are also widely used as additives in animal feeds to impart the desired colour to animal tissues or to derived products, or to provide adequate vitamin supplies. 

Various natural dyes exist the use of most of these is unrestricted in most countries. Examples include caramel (brown), annatto (red-orange dye from achiote seeds, active ingredient is bixin, 24.32), chlorophyll (green from Chlorella algae), cochineal (red), betanin (red/purple from beets, 24.33 —various tautomers and zwitterions are possible), saffron (yellow the dye molecule is crocin, 24.34), turmeric (yellow, active dye is curcumin, 24.35), paprika (red, zeaxanthin, 24.36), and elderberry juice. Several of these compounds have been shown to have active benefits for human health. Such compounds are permitted as food dyes even when they are manufactured and synthetic carotene does not need to be extracted from carrots to be allowed. 

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