BACKGROUND: The interest in stable natural colorants for food applications continues to grow. A red pigment extracted from the leaf sheaths of a sorghum variety (Sorghum bicolor) with a high content of apigeninidin is widely used as a biocolorant in processed foods in West Africa. This study compared the colour and anthocyanin composition from traditional extraction methods to determine options for improvement and use of the red biocolorant from dye sorghum in the food sector.