Uso de corantes vegetais na indústria de alimentos como alternativa aos corantes artificiais: uma revisão

Abstract

With the eating habits changes and consumer preferences, the search for natural alternatives has been growing. The use of additives that, in addition to giving color to make the food more attractive, also have health appeals, has been driving the replacement of artificial colors by natural ones. Among the pigments most used as colorants are anthocyanins, betalains, carotenoids and chlorophyll. These pigments are used in order to give colors ranging from yellow to violet, varying from the source of obtainment and the pH conditions of the environment where they are applied. The obtainment of dyes can occur through conventional techniques such as solid-liquid extraction using solvents by the Soxhlet method, heat-assisted extraction (maceration) and distillation. However, the search for emerging methods, those considered "green" technologies, such as microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasound, enzyme-assisted extraction, pulsed electric field and supercritical or subcritical liquid extraction, aim at higher yields, reduction of solvents, efficiency and pigment quality maximization. The use of more modern extraction methods, combined with stabilization techniques, seek to reduce the stability challenges during processing and shelf life of foods colored with natural dyes. In this way, it is necessary to encourage the scaling of studies on extraction and stabilization techniques of vegetable dyes and the continuous exploration of methods that make the process more efficient are further explored.