A Colored Avocado Seed Extract as a Potential Natural Colorant

Abstract

There is growing public and scientific interest in the development of natural alternatives to synthetic colorants in foods. Extracts of turmeric, paprika, and beets are examples of food-derived natural colorants. Avocado seeds, which represent an under-utilized waste stream, form a stable orange color when crushed in the presence of air. Our data indicate that avocado seed represents a potential source of new natural colorants for use in foods.

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) by‐products and their impact: from bioactive compounds to biomass energy and sorbent material for removing contaminants. A review

“…Conversely, the addition of polyphenol oxidase restored the colour differently from the addition of peroxidase. Colour became more intense in the pH range 2.0–11.0, and it was stable in solution at −18°C for 2 months (Dabas et al ., ).…”

Optimization of the antioxidant and antimicrobial response of the combined effect of nisin and avocado byproducts

“…The seed extract was discarded because it did not provide a good antioxidant or antimicrobial response compared with those of nisin or peel. It could be added that perhaps this mixture requires a final color, such as a natural color additive similar to curcumin (Dabas, Elias, Lambert, & Ziegler, 2011).…”

Prunus mahaleb L. fruit extracts: a novel source for natural food pigments

“…Furthermore, evidence is increasingly appearing in the scientific literature about the health-promoting capacity of natural colorants [2]. For these reasons, demand for natural colorants has increased both from retailers and from consumers, leading to greater efforts on the part of the food industry to discover new natural colorants with appealing features [3]. At present, the European Union has authorized about 43 colorants as food additives [4], several of which are derived from natural source by physical and/or chemical extraction.…”