Natural Blues: Structure Meets Function in Anthocyanins

Choices of blue food colourants are extremely limited, with only two options in the USA, synthetic blue no. 1 and no. 2, and a third available in Europe, patent blue V. The food industry is investing heavily in finding naturally derived replacements, with limited success to date. Here, we review the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plants (Basel) 2021-04, Vol.10 (4), p.726
Main Authors: Houghton, Alan, Appelhagen, Ingo, Martin, Cathie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anthocyanin
Anthocyanins
blue
co-pigment
Color
Coloring agents
Energy
Equilibrium
Flavonoids
Food
food colourants
Food dyes
Food industry
Food processing industry
Fruits
Light
Pigmentation
Pigments
quinonoid base
Review
Stability
Structure-function relationships
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Summary:Choices of blue food colourants are extremely limited, with only two options in the USA, synthetic blue no. 1 and no. 2, and a third available in Europe, patent blue V. The food industry is investing heavily in finding naturally derived replacements, with limited success to date. Here, we review the complex and multifold mechanisms whereby blue pigmentation by anthocyanins is achieved in nature. Our aim is to explain how structure determines the functionality of anthocyanin pigments, particularly their colour and their stability. Where possible, we describe the impact of progressive decorations on colour and stability, drawn from extensive but diverse physico-chemical studies. We also consider briefly how this understanding could be harnessed to develop blue food colourants on the basis of the understanding of how anthocyanins create blues in nature.
ISSN:2223-7747
2223-7747
DOI:10.3390/plants10040726