3-Carotene annatto

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. 

Exempt colorants are made up of a wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds representing the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. Some, like -carotene and 2inc oxide, are essentially pure factory-produced chemicals of definite and known composition. Others, including annatto extract, cochineal extract, caramel, and beet powder are mixtures obtained from natural sources and have somewhat indefinite compositions. 

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. 

Annatto is a colored pigment that is extracted from the Central and South American plant Bixa orellana. The color comes from the resinous outer covering of the seeds of the plant, which is composed of the carotenoid pigments bixin and norbixin and their esters. The central portion of those molecules is the same as that of the molecule beta-carotene, and the yellow-orange color of annatto comes from the same physical chemistry origins as the orange color of beta-carotene. 

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. 

Colorant containing annatto and Ca caseinate as carrier mixed with water to be added directly to cheese milk yielding uniform colored cheese mass Water-dispersible beadlet of p-carotene is mixed with oil to attein composition that remains stable even in presence of polyphosphates and with antioxidant action even in absence of ascorbic acid Blending carotenoid pigment and soybean fiber (wifii tomato juice) as effective ingredient for dispersion stability... 

ANNATTO FOOD COLORS. These colors are natural carotenoid colorants derived from the seed of the tropical annatto tree (Bixa nrellana). The surface of the seeds contains a highly colored resin, consisting primarily of the carotenoid bixin. The bixin is extracted from the seed by a special process to produce a pure, soluble colorant. Bixin, one of the relatively few naturally occurring cts compounds, has a chemical structure similar to the nucleus of carotene with a free and esterified carboxyl group as end groups. Its formula is CM LoCL. (See Fig. I). 

Figure 10.12 Chemical structures for annatto, p-carotene and p-apo-8 -carotenal.

Anisic Alcohol, 456 Anisic Aldehyde, 524 Anisole, 456, 606 Anisyl Acetate, 456, 568, 606 Anisyl Acetone, 524 Anisyl Alcohol, 456, 606 Anisyl Formate, 456, 607 Annatto Extracts, 31 Anthrone TS, (Sl)114 Antimony Trichloride TS, 850, 851 APDC Extraction Method, 766 APM, 35, (S 1)4 APM-Ace, (S3)5 APO, 32 Apocarotenal, 32 p-Apo-8 -Carotenal, 32 Apparatus for Tests and Assays, 4, 727 D-Araboascorbic Acid, 134 L-Arginine, 32, (S3)5 l-Arginine Monohydrochloride, 33 Arsenic Specification, Requirements for Keeping, xv... 

Annatto extract Beta-apo-8 -carotenal Beta-carotene Beet powder Canthaxanthin Caramel Carrot oil Cochineal extract (carmine)... 

Annatto is classified as El 60(b). It is extracted from the seeds of the tree Bixa orellana which grows in America, India and East Africa. The extract is a mixture of two pigments, bixin and nor-bixin. Bixin is oil soluble, whereas nor-bixin is water soluble (it is one of the two water soluble carotenes - the other is crocin), and both of the pigments are diapo-carotenoids. Annatto has long been used as a food colouring and also has some uses as a food flavouring. 

Colouring agents are added to make food and drink look more appealing. Some are synthetic, for example tartrazine and erythrosine, while others are natural, for example carotene and annatto. 

Other colourants in use are sunset yellow (Eiio), another synthetic azo dye, and caramel. Caramel colours are manufactured from sugars and are very widely used. This food colour has caused some concern due to effects in experimental animals, for example the reduction in the number of white blood cells in rats. This may be due to the effects of contaminants at the high doses given which may be enhanced by a reduced intake of vitamin B6 in the diet. Annatto and beta carotene are naturally occurring colourants, but in one study 26 per cent of patients with chronic urticaria were shown to react to annatto. 

Butter colorings are oil soluble and most often are natural annatto (an extraction of the seeds of the tropical tree Bixa orelland) or natural carotenes (extractions from various carotene-rich plants). Because they are oil soluble, colorings are added to the cream to obtain the most uniform dispersion. 

Margarine is colored with carotenoids, and synthetic p-carotene is by far the most widely used. Carotene dissolves very slowly in oil. Therefore, the compound is pulverized to a particle size of 2-5 pm and the microcrystals are suspended in oil to retard oxidation (228). Natural extracts containing carotenoids, for example, annatto (bixin), carrot oil, and red palm oil also have been used. Annatto, which is used in butter, is somewhat sensitive to light and may have an orange or slightly pink hue, particularly when the aqueous phase is acid (4). Mixtures of annatto and turmeric extracts result in a more typical color than annatto alone (229). Many margarine manufacturers purchase blends of colors and vitamins customized for their specific products. 

Color Beta carotene including vitamins A and D 0.001-0.005 Annatto ... 

Annatto, j5-carotene BHT, BHA Sodium glutamate Sodium nitrite, nitrate Sorbic acid Quinoline yellow Yeast... 

Natural white 1. See Guanine Natural yellow 3. See Turmeric (Curcuma longa) Natural yellow 10. See Quercetin Natural yellow 26. See Cl 75130 Carotene Natural Yellow Colour Q-500, Q-1000, Q-2000. See Annatto (Bixa orellana) extract Naturechem CAR. See Cetyl acetyl ricinoleate Naturechem CR. See Cetyl ricinoleate Naturechem GHS. See Glycol hydroxystearate Naturechem GMHS. See Glyceryl hydroxystearate... 

Amaranth Annatto (Bixa orellana) Annatto (Bixa orellana) extract Anthocyanins P-Apo-8 -carotenal... 

Dairy products—Most all ice creams and sherbets contain artificial color. Chocolate ice cream may be the exception. Annatto and beta-carotene are used in cheese, since the certified colors are not sufficiently stable. Margarine and butter are also colored with annatto and beta-carotene. 

A red, fight red, or yellow dye can be made fiom the seeds of Bixa Orellana L. (Bixaceae), an evergreen shrub that grows in Mexico and Central and South America. Commonly known as Annatto, the dyestuff contains bixin and crocetin, as well as several other yellow to orange-red compounds which behave like carotene (Diemair et al., 1933 Schweppe, 1992). 

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