Dactylopius coccus Costa

To extract and evalnate the color pigments from cochineals Dactylopius coccus Costa), a simple method was developed. The procednre is based on the solvent extraction of insect samples nsing methanol and water (65 35, v/v) and a two-level factorial design to optimize the solvent extraction parameters temperature, time, methanol concentration in mixtnre, and yield. For hydrophilic colorants that are more sensitive to temperatnre, water is the solvent of choice. For example, de-aerated water extraction at low temperatnre was applied to separate yellow saffrole and carthamine from saffron (Carthamus tinctorius) florets that contain about 1% yellow saffrole and 0.3% red carthamine. ... 

Gonzalez, M. et al.. Optimizing conditions for the extraction of pigments in cochineals Dactylopius coccus Costa) using response surface methodology, J. Agric. Food Chem., 50, 6968, 2002. 

Cochineal extract is obtained from the bodies of the female cochineal insects, particularly Dactylopius coccus Costa, by treating the dried bodies with ethanol. After removal of the solvent, the dried residue contains about 2-4% carminic acid, the main colored component. The cochineal insects grow on cactus and,... 

The red insect dyes from Dactylopius coccus COSTA (American cochineal), Kermococcus vermilio PLANCHON (kermes), and Kerria lacca KERR (lac dye) can also be readily distinguished by thin-layer chromatographic comparison. 

Dactylopius coccus COSTA, which produces American cochineal Kermococcus vermilio PLANCHON, which produces kermes ... 

Dactylopius coccus COSTA (Coccus cacti L.) (Coccidae)... 

Carmine occurs as bright red, friable pieces or as a dark red powder. It is the aluminum or the calcium-aluminum lake, on an aluminum hydroxide substrate, of the coloring principles obtained by an aqueous extraction of cochineal. Cochineal consists of the dried female insects Dactylopius coccus costa (Coccus cacti L.), enclosing young larvae the coloring principles thus derived consist mainly of carminic acid (C22H20O13). It is soluble in alkali solutions, slightly soluble in hot water, and practically insoluble in cold water and in dilute acids. 

Carmine is the most stable, natural red, water-soluble pigment. It is extracted from the insect Dactylopius coccus costa and for this reason is available only as a colorant. The beverage industry uses special acid-stable qualities that achieve colour hues ranging from orange to red-violet, depending on the production method used. 

Cochineal (E 120) is the red coloring matter extracted from the dried bodies of female insects of the species Dactylopius coccus Costa or Coccus cacti L. These insects are cultivated on the cactus plants in Peru, Equador, Guatamala, and Mexico. 

Both carmine and cochineal extract are made from the dried female insect, Dactylopius coccus costa, commonly known as cochineal. The cochineal live on specific cacti and the main prodnction is in Pern, bnt cochineal are also produced in Chile, Bolivia and the Canary Islands. There are nsnally two harvests per year, where the cochineal are removed mannally with snitable tools from leaves of the cacti. Following harvest the insects are snn dried before further processing. The cochineal insects are extracted nsing an aqueous alkaline solution. The resnlting cochineal extract can either be formulated to different cochineal products in powder or liquid form or further processed to carmine. Cochineal products are water-soluble and orange in low pH applications. The colour intensity is relatively low. 

Carminic acid (Cochineal) Dactylopius coccus Costa N Semi-S E 120... 

Cochineal extract (Colour Index 75470, E 120)is the final alcohol-free material obtained after aqueous ethanolic extraction of the dried bodies of the female scale insect Dactylopius coccus Costa which lives on cacti such as Opuntia or Nopalea coccinellifera a species indigenous to Peru and Mexico, although also found in the Canary Islands. In practice a simpler procedure consists of aqueous alkaline extraction. The colourant principle is carminic acid which is more well-known in the form of carmine, an aluminium chelate of carminic acid, a material insoluble in water and stable on the acidic side. A uv spectrophotometric study has been made (ref. 21). Thin layer chromatography of cochineal has been examined on acetylated cellulose with the solvent system, ethyl acetate-tetrahydrofuran-water (6 35 47) in which the Rf was 0.94 (refs.22,23). The history of the chemistry of cochineal has been discussed (ref.24). 

With the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, dyeing with cochineal came to Europe in 1530 (Fig. 2.20). The dyestuff was obtained from the American cochineal scale insect Dactylopius coccus Costa), which had already been bred in a big way by the Aztecs on cactus plants (Opuntia monacantha, Opuntia vulgaris and Nopalea cochenillifera). Due to the higher yield of dyestuff, cochineal displaced kermes almost completely. In the heyday of cochineal production, around 1870, the Canary Islands annually exported 3,000 tonnes of cochineal (Fig. 2.21). 

Cochineal is a red dyestuff principally derived from various species of Coccoidea (scale insects) belonging to Dactylopiidae and Porphyrophora. These are often termed New World and Old World cochineals respectively. Of the New World species there is one domesticated insect, the Dactylopius coccus Costa (formerly Coccus cacti L.), and three wild species D. Confusus Cockerell, D. ceylonicus Green and D. opuntiae Cockrell native to Central and South America Mexico, Honduras, Peru and Argentina. 

Cochineal extract (Cl Natural Red 4, EEC No. E 120) is the concentrated solution obtained after removing the alcohol from an aqueous-alcoholic extract of cochineal, which is the dried bodies of the female insect Coccus cacti (Dactylopius coccus costa), a variety of field louse. The coloring principle of the extract is believed to be carminic acid [1260-17-9] (13), an hydroxyanthraquinone linked to a glucose unit, comprising approximately 10% of cochineal and 2-4% of its extract. 

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