PIGMENTS FOUND IN VEGETABLES AND ITS EXTRACTION TECHNIQUE

INTRODUCTION

The pigments found in plants play important roles in plant metabolism and visual attraction in nature. They are also important for humans, attracting our attention and providing us with nutrients. Major plant pigments include carotenoids, anthocyanins and other flavonoids, betalains, and chlorophylls.

CAROTENOIDS

Carotenoids pigments are yellow, orange or red, and play pivotal roles in photosynthesis. Carotenoids are organic pigments that are naturally occurring in chromoplasts of plants and some other organisms like algae, fungus and bacteria. There are over 600 known carotenoids. They absorb blue light. Carotenoids serve two key roles in plants and algae: they absorb light energy for use in photosynthesis, and they protect chlorophyll from photo damage photooxidation and are accessory, lightharvesting pigments and photoreceptors.

EXTRACTION OF CAROTENOIDS

Carotenoids are extracted from plant matter by mixing the plant matter and water to obtain a mixture of no greater than 10 Bx, crushing the mixture to obtain a pulp and a serum, and extracting the pulp to obtain a carotenoids containing plant oleoresin.

CAROTENOIDS

Carotenoids are found in vegetables

Zeaxanthin, a powerful carotenoids antioxidant

CHLOROPHYLL

Chlorophyll are green pigments. They occur in all green plants and are localized in plastids. Chlorophylls capture light energy and convert it into chemical energy. They rarely occur outside of photosynthetic tissue. Chlorophyll absorbs light most strongly in the blue and red but poorly in the green portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, hence the green color of chlorophyll-containing tissues such as plant leaves.

EXTRACTION OF CHLOROPHYLL

Chlorophylls and carotenes do not dissolve very well in water, but they dissolve like in hexane. The other compounds do not dissolve well in hexane, but dissolve well in water. Water and hexane do not mix. If you mix them together, the hexane will form a layer on top of the water because hexane is less dense than water. The differences in compound solubility in water and hexane, and the fact that water and hexane form layers, and we can separate the chlorophylls and carotenes from the water-soluble compounds. After vigorous shaking to mix the layers temporarily, you will allow them to separate.

CHLOROPHYLL

ANTHOCYANINS

Anthocyanins are water-soluble flavonoids pigments that appear red to blue, according to pH. They occur in all tissues of higher plants, providing color in leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and fruits, though not always in sufficient quantities to be noticeable. Anthocyanins are most visible in the petals of flowers, where they may make up as much as 30% of the dry weight of the tissue. In plants like Tradescantia zebrina; the anthocyanin catches light that has passed through the leaf and reflects it back towards regions bearing chlorophyll, in order to maximize the use of available light.

EXTRACTION OF ANTHOCYANINS

The undesirable materials contained in anthocyanin extracts are removed by subjecting the extracts to ultra filtration or dialysis to remove low molecular weight components from the extracts. The extracts are also subjected to ion exchange to remove additional of these undesirable constituents.. They are also enhanced with oxidative stability and photo stability. Such processed anthocyanin extracts may have higher tinctoral powers, and thus they may be suitable for coloring various food products.

ANTHOCYANINS

The purple color of flower is due to the presence of anthocyanins.

BETALAINS

Betalains are a class of red and yellow in dole-derived pigments found in plants of the Caryophyllales. They are most often noticeable in the petals of flowers, but may color the fruits, leaves, stems, and roots of plants that contain them. The deep red color of beets, bougainvillea, amaranth, and many cacti results from the presence of betalain pigments. Betalains may occur in any part of the plant, including the petals of flowers, fruits, leaves, stems, and roots.

BETALAINS

Flowers containing betalains

Betalains are found in beet