Trends in Food Science & Technology 16 (2005) 370–376
Review
Characterization
and application of
betalain pigments
from plants of the
Amaranthaceae
Yi-Zhong Caia, Mei Sunb and
Harold Corkea*
a
Department of Botany, The University of Hong
Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
(Tel.: C852 22 99 0314; fax: C852 28 58 3477;
e-mail: hcorke@yahoo.com)
b
Department of Zoology, The University of Hong
Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
The colored vegetative tissues of plants in the family
Amaranthaceae contain various betalain pigments and are
often produced in high biomass, and therefore, attract
interest as potential alternatives to the well-known betalains
from beet roots. We attempted a comprehensive systematic
study, including selection of betalain-producing genotypes
and species, extraction, identification and quantification of
betalains, determination and evaluation of physicochemical
properties and antioxidant activity; and pigment utilization
in certain food systems. The results demonstrated high
potential for Amaranthus pigments for use as natural food
colorants.
Introduction
There has been an increasing trend towards replace-
ment of synthetic colorants by natural pigments in the
last 20 years, because of natural pigments’ safety and
health benefits, and strong consumer demand for more
natural products (Boyd, 1998; Jackman & Smith, 1996).
Although natural pigments are generally less stable
* Corresponding author.
0924-2244/$ - see front matter q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2005.03.020
and have higher cost than synthetic colorants, their
development and utilization is attracting more and more
attention. Well-known betacyanins from red beet (Beta
vulgaris) have been extensively used in the food industry
worldwide for many years (von Elbe & Goldman, 2000).
Moreover, recent studies have shown that beet betacya-
nins can be classified as dietary cationized antioxidants
(Kanner, Harel, & Granit, 2001). With sustainably
increasing markets for natural colorants, it is worthwhile
to search for and develop new or alternative sources of
natural colorants.
Betalains are of great taxonomic significance in higher
plants. The presence of betalains in members of the order
&
Caryophyllales has been an important criterion for their
classification. The presence of betalains and anthocyanins
is mutually exclusive in the angiosperms (Strack, Steglich,
& Wray, 1993; Stafford, 1994), i.e. betalains and
anthocyanins have never been reported in the same plants
(Francis, 1999). Betalains are water-soluble nitrogenous
pigments. They can be divided into two major structural
groups, the red to red-violet betacyanins (Latin Beta, beet
and Greek kyanos, blue color) and the yellow betaxanthins
(Latin Beta and Greek xanthos, yellow). Betacyanins can
be further classified by their chemical structures into four
kinds: betanin-type, amaranthin-type, gomphrenin-type
and bougainvillein-type (Strack et al., 1993). So far it
has been found that betalains in nature comprise
approximately 50 red betacyanins and 20 yellow
betaxanthins (Francis, 1999). Common beets usually
contain both red betacyanins (consisting of 75–95%
betanin) and yellow betaxanthins (w95% vul-gaxanthin
I), in various ratios depending on cultivar (Francis, 1999;
Piattelli, 1981).
Betalains occur only in the plants from 10 families of
the order Caryophyllales (old name: Centrospermae), such
as the family Amaranthaceae which includes several
important genera, i.e. Amaranthus, Celosia, Gomphrena,
and Iresine (Benson, 1957; Bhattacharyya & Johri, 1998).
Amaranth is a rediscovered ‘new’ crop. It was an ancient
crop that was under cultivation 5000–7000 years ago as a
staple food of the ancient Aztecs (Lehmann, 1994). It is
still cultivated as a minor crop in Central and South
America and some areas of Asia and Africa. Grain
amaranth (Amaranthus) has developed worldwide as a
new crop over the past 20 years, with good nutritional
quality, strong tolerance to stress conditions (drought,
 Y.-Z. Cai et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 16 (2005) 370–376
salinity, alkalinity, acidic or poor soil), and high biomass
yield (Yue, Sun, & Tang, 1993). In China, Amaranthus
production has achieved wide popularity for use for feed
and food purposes, and China ranks highest in grain
amaranth production in the world.
For the last decade, we have been conducting research
and development of amaranth, including natural betalains
from the plants in the Amaranthaceae. Red-violet
betacyanin pigments from Amaranthus plants have
provoked interest as a potential alternative source of
betalains, since some Amaranthus genotypes produce
particularly high biomass and contain high levels of
pigment. Production of commercial betalains depends not
only on efficient processing techniques (e.g. enzymatic
control, extraction, purification, concentration, and drying
operations), but also on a continuous availability of highly
pigmented sources (Delgado-Vargas, Jiménez, & Parede-
s-López, 2000). Nowadays, beet roots (Beta vulgaris) are
the main commercial source of betacyanins (concentrates
or powders). A current trend of research is a search for
alternative sources of betalains. Some plants in the
Amaranthaceae (particularly, Amaranthus, Celosia) have
attracted considerable attention as potential alternative
sources of betalains (Cai, Sun, & Corke, 2001a; Cai, Sun,
Schliemann, & Corke, 2001b; Lee, Shin, Byun, Jo, &
Cho, 1986; Lehmann, 1990). Some Amaranthus genotypes
produce very high biomass and contain a large amount of
betalain pigments (Cai, Sun, Wu, Huang, & Corke,
1998b).
This project is devoted to development and utilization of
new betalains from plants in the Amaranthaceae, particu-
larly from the genus Amaranthus. Our objective is to
extract, identify and quantify components of betalains from
plants in the Amaranthaceae, to determine and evaluate
pigment stability, colour properties and antioxidant activity,
to examine the feasibility of use of the pigments in model
food systems, to produce spray-dried pigment powder, and
to screen superior genotypes for pigment development and
processing.
Technical approaches
A total of 388 genotypes of 37 species from eight genera
(especially Amaranthus) in the Amaranthaceae from world
collections, mainly provided by USDA-ARS (Iowa State
University), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
(Beijing, China), and Hubei Academy of Agricultural
Sciences (Wuhan, China), were used as materials for these
studies. Betalains were extracted with distilled water or 80%
methanol, and separated/purified by gel filtration chroma-
tography and preparative HPLC. Water extraction was a
simple, highly efficient and lost-cost method for crude
betalain extraction, but led to difficult separation of betalain
and water-soluble protein components (Cai et al., 1998b).
Methanol extraction significantly improved separation of
371
betalain and protein and also reduced interference of protein
on betalain analysis (Cai, Sun, & Croke, 2001a).
Individual betacyanin composition (%) was measured
by analytical HPLC and was expressed as percentage of
peak area. Total betalain content was measured using
a spectrophotometer. The total contents of betacyanins
(amaranthin-type, betanin-type or gomphrenin-type) and
betaxanthins were calculated using the formula reported
by Cai et al. (1998b, 2001a,b). Their molar absorptivity
(3) values were 5.66!104 (amaranthin, E11%cm 536 nmZ
779), 6.16!104 (betanin, E11%cm 536 nmZ1120), and
5.06!104 (gomphrenin I, E11%cm 540 nmZ920). The
mean molar absorptivity (3) values for betaxanthins is
4.80!104.
Betalain structures were elucidated by MS and NMR as
well as using other techniques (by co-chromatography with
authentic samples and by comparison with literature data)
(Cai et al., 2001a; Schliemann, Cai, Degenkolb, Schmitdt, &
Corke, 2001). The experimental methods for measuring
pigment stability and properties, evaluation method of
pigment application in model food systems, and pigment
spray-drying procedures can be found in earlier publications
(Cai, Sun, & Croke, 1998a; Cai & Corke, 1999, 2000).
Antioxidant activity of betalains was assayed using the
modified DPPH† (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) method
(Cai, Sun, & Corke, 2003).
Occurrence
The distribution of betacyanins in 37 species of eight
genera in the Amaranthaceae was investigated (Cai et al.,
2001a). A total of 16 kinds of betacyanins and three kinds
of betaxanthins were isolated and characterized. Spectral
data and structures of the 19 betalains are summarized in
Table 1 and Figs. 1 and 2. They consist of six simple
(nonacylated) betacyanins and 10 acylated betacyanins,
including eight amaranthin-type pigments, six gomphre-
nin-type pigments and two betanin-type pigments.
Acylated betacyanins were identified as betanidin 5-O-
(2 0 -O-(-glucuronosyl) glucoside or betanidin 6-O-(-gluco-
side acylated with ferulic, p-coumaric or 3-hydroxy-3-
methylglutaric acids. Three new types of betaxanthins
were isolated from three Celosia species in the Amar-
athaceae and identified to be immonium conjugates of
betalamic acid with dopa-mine, 3-methoxytyramine and
(S)-tryptophan (Schliemann et al., 2001).
Total betacyanins in the various Amaranthus plant
materials ranged from 46 to 199 mg/100 g of fresh plant
material (Cai et al., 1998b). Amaranthus cultivated species
contained much more betacyanins than wild species and
had much higher biomass, indicating that certain
cultivated genotypes have greater potential for commercial
development as natural colorant sources. Acylated
betacyanins were distributed among 11 species of six
genera, with the highest proportion occurring in
Iresine herbstii (79.6%) and Gomphrena globosa
 372
Table 1. Nineteen betalains (betacyanins and betaxanthins) identified in the family Amaranthaeae

Retention time Representative

Betacyanina Sugar moity Acyl moiety (position) (min) HPLC-DAD (nm) MS [MCH]C source
Acyl-lmax Vis-lmax
Amaranthin-type
1. Amaranthin 5-O-Glc-2-O-GlcU – 10.71 – 536 727 Amaranthus cruentus

Y.-Z. Cai et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 16 (2005) 370–376
1 0 . Isoamaranthin 5-O-Glc-2-O-GlcU – 12.01 – 536 727 Amaranthus cruentus
2. Celosianin I 5-O-Glc-2-O-GlcU p-coumaryol (GlcU-2-O) 19.90 306 546 872 Celosia cristata
2 0 . Isocelosianin I 5-O-Glc-2-O-GlcU p-coumaryol (GlcU-2-O) 20.56 306 546 872 Celosia cristata
3. Celosianin II 5-O-Glc-2-O-GlcU Feruloyl (GlcU-2-O) 21.32 312 546 903 Celosia cristata
3 0 . Isocelosianin II 5-O-Glc-2-O-GlcU Feruloyl (GlcU-2-O) 22.11 312 546 903 Celosia cristata
4. Iresinin I 5-O-Glc-2-O-GlcU HMG (GlcU-6-O) 17.49 298 540 871 Iresine herbstii
4 0 . Isoiresinin I 5-O-Glc-2-O-GlcU HMG (GlcU-6-O) 18.37 298 540 871 Iresine herbstii
Betanin-type
5. Betanin 5-O-Glc – 14.77 – 538 551 Amaranthus powellii
5 0 . Isobetanin 5-O-Glc – 12.01 – 538 551 Amaranthus powellii
Gomphrenin-type
6. Gomphrenin I 6-O-Glc – 32.83 – 540 551 Gomphrena globosa
6 0 . Isogomphrenin I 6-O-Glc – 35.19 – 540 551 Gomphrena globosa
7. Gomphrenin II 6-O-Glc p-coumaryol (Glc-6-O) 58.34 310 552 697 Gomphrena globosa
7 0 . Isogomphrenin II 6-O-Glc p-coumaryol (Glc-6-O) 59.10 322 552 – Gomphrena globosa
8. Gomphrenin III 6-O-Glc Feruloyl (Glc-6-O) 61.58 310 552 727 Gomphrena globosa
8 0 . Isogomphrenin III 6-O-Glc Feruloyl (Glc-6-O) 63.59 324 552 – Gomphrena globosa

Representative
Betaxanthin Amino acid/amine Retention time (min) HPLC-DAD (nm) MS [MCH]C source
UV-lmax Vis-lmax
9. Miraxanthin V Dopamine 23.0 261 457 347 Celosia cristata/
plumosa
10. 3-Methoxytyra- 3-Methoxytyramine 27.5 261 457 361 Celosia cristata/
mine-betaxanthin plumosa
11. (S)-Tryptophan- (S)-tryptophan 34.7 218, 264 471 398 Celosia cristata/
betaxanthin plumosa
Glc, b-D-glucose; GlcU, b-D-glucuronic acid; HMG, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric acid. HPLC-DAD and ESI-MS analysis data were from our previous studies (Cai et al., 2001a; see
Schliemann et al., 2001).
a
1 0 , 2 0 , 3 0 , 4 0 , 5 0 , 6 0 , 7 0 , 8 0 are the C-15 epimers of corresponding betacyanins.
 Y.-Z. Cai et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 16 (2005) 370–376 373

Fig. 1. Structures of the betacyanins identified in the Amaranthaceae: amaranthin (1), celosianin I (2), celosianin II (3), iresinin I (4), betanin (5),
gomphrenin I (6), gomphrenin II (7), and gomphrenin III (8). Their isomeric forms (1 0 , 2 0 , 3 0 , 4 0 , 5 0 , 6 0 , 7 0 and 8 0 ) are the C-15 epimers of
corresponding betacyanins (not drawn). Adapted from Cai et al. (2001a).

(68.4%) (Cai et al., 2001a). The tested yellow/orange-red
genotypes of Celosia species contained a large amount of
betalains (mainly betaxanthins), ranging from 92.1 to
621.5 nmol/g fresh weight (fr. wt) (Schliemann et al.,
2001). The superior genotypes, especially Amaranthus
genotypes (e.g., Cr072, Bejing-red), have been selected
for future pigment development and application.
Water-soluble natural yellow pigments as food colorants
are scarce because of their limited sources and poor
stability. Celosia betaxanthins were shown to be water-
soluble, bright yellow in the pH range 2.2–7.0, being most
stable at pH 5.5 (Cai et al., 2001b). The betaxanthins are
also susceptible to heat, and found to be as unstable as red
betacyanins at high temperatures (O40 8C), but more stable
at 40 8C with the exclusion of light and air. Dried

Pigment stability and colour properties

RO
Some of physical–chemical properties are shown in
Tables 2 and 3. Amaranthus red–violet betacyanins, like red
beet betalains, are susceptible to temperature and also HO HN HN
affected by pH, light, air, and water activity, with better
H
pigment stability at lower temperatures (%14 8C) in the N COO
9 R=H H
dark and in the absence of air over the pH range 5–7, being 11
10 R= CH3
more stable pH 5.6 (Cai et al., 1998a). The dried pigments
were very stable at 25 8C, with longer half-life (t1/2Z23.3
H
months) and higher pigment retention (78.2%) compared to COOH H
OOC N
aqueous pigment extracts (t1/2Z1.04 months and 18.3%) HOOC N COOH
after 43.5-week storage, suggesting that the dried Amar- H H
anthus pigments are stable enough to be used as commercial
Fig. 2. Structures of the betaxanthins identified in the Amarantha-
colorants. These characteristics and properties of Amar- ceae: dopamine-betaxanthin (miraxanthin V) (9), 3-methoxytyra-
anthus pigments demonstrate possible potential as food mine-betaxanthin (10), and (S)-tryptophan-betaxanthin (11).
colorants, particularly for low temperature use. Adapted from Cai et al. (2001b); Schliemann et al. (2001).
374 Y.-Z. Cai et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 16 (2005) 370–376

Table 2. Color characteristics and properties of betalains (betacyanins and betaxanthins) from representative species in the Amaranthaceae

Betalains Species source L* a* b* C Ho Suitable pH range

Red-violet betacyanins Amaranthus cruentus (Cr072) 41.1 24.3 K5.0 24.8 348.4 5.0–7.0
Amaranthus tricolor (Tr010) 41.1 22.4 1.1 22.4 2.8 –
Amaranthus caudatus (Sheng07) 41.0 21.5 0.9 21.5 2.3 –
Yellow betaxanthins Celosia plumosa (yellow) 26.7 K2.2 12.5 12.7 99.8 2.2-7.0
Celosia plumosa (orange-red)a 23.8 4.1 5.2 6.6 51.9 –
Pigment solutions were prepared in a McIlvaine’s buffer (pH 2.2–8.0) and a Clark–Lubs’ buffer (pH 8.0–10.0) and diluted to a fixed
absorbance (Almax : w1.0 for betacyanins and w0.8 for betaxanthins) for color parameter assay (pH 5.5–5.6). Data are means of triplicate
determinations (Cai et al., 1998a, 2001b).
a
Orange-red species contained both yellow betaxanthins and red-violet betacyanins.

betaxanthins have much better storage stability (95.6% new class of dietary cationized antioxidants (Pedreño &
pigment retention) than corresponding aqueous solution Escribano, 2000; Kanner et al., 2001). In our study (Cai et
(12.5%) at 22 8C after 20-week storage. Both dried powder al., 2003), antioxidant activity of 19 different betalains from
and aqueous solution of betaxanthins have high storage plants in the family Amaranthaceae was evaluated using the
stability at lower temperature. Refrigeration (4 8C) signifi- modified DPPH† method. The results showed that all tested
cantly increased pigment retention of aqueous betaxanthins betalains exhibited strong antioxidant activity (Table 4).
to 76.2% after 20-week storage. The novel natural
betaxanthins identified from Celosia species may become
a potential new source of water-soluble yellow colorants for Table 4. Antioxidant activity of betalains separated from plants
food use at low temperature. However, it was found that in the Amaranthaceae by preparative HPLC
crude betaxanthin extracts from yellow inflorescences of
Compounds Botanical EC50 Inhibition
Celosia contain high levels of dopamine (41.2 mmol/fr.wt). source (mM)a (%)b
It is necessary to investigate, prior to application of Celosia
Betacyanins
betaxanthin mixtures in the food industry, if the dopamine Amaranthin-type betacyanins
content has unwanted pharmacological effects. Amaranthin Amaranthus 8.37 31.1
tricolor
Isoamaranthin Amaranthus 8.35 31.1
Antioxidant activity of betalains tricolor
There has been considerable interest in dietary antiox- Iresinins Iresine herbstii 8.08 32.4
(acylated amaranthin)
idants as bioactive components of food. Previous studies
Celosianins Celosia cristata 7.13 34.6
reported that the betalains from beet roots possessed high (acylated amaranthin) (violet)
antiradical effect and antioxidant activity, representing a Gomphrenin-type betacyanins
(Iso)gomphrenin I Gomphrena 3.35 74.5
globosa
Acylated Gomphrena 4.11 59.9
Table 3. Storage stability of crude betalain extracts (betacyanins gomphrenins globosa
and betaxanthins) from the plants of the family Amaranthaceae (II and III)
in the dark and in the absence of air Betanin-type betacyaninsc
Betanin Beta vulgaris 4.88 50.8
Betalains Botanical source Storage
Pigment retention Isobetanin Beta vulgaris 4.89 50.8
time
(%)a Betaxanthins
(weeks)
Dopamine- Celosia 4.08 60.3
Room betaxanthin plumosa
4 8C temp 3-Methoxytyramine- Celosia 4.21 56.9
Betacyanins betaxanthin plumosa
Dried Amaranthus 43.5 93.4 78.2 (S)-Tryptophan- Celosia – 53.6
sample cruentus (25 8C) betaxanthin plumosa
Aqueous Amaranthus 43.5 62.3 18.3 Standard antioxidants (ck)
extract cruentus (25 8C)b Ascorbic acid 13.93 17.1
Betaxanthins
Data from Cai et al. (2003).
Dried Celosia plumosa 20 99.3 95.6 a
EC50 values were calculated from the slope equations of the
sample (yellow) (22 8C)
dose-response curves (r2Z0.967–0.999).
Aqueous Celosia plumosa 20 76.2 12.5 b
Values were means of inhibition (%) of DPPH† at 5 mM
extract (yellow) (22 8C)c
antioxidantsGstandard derivation (SD) (nZ3).
a c
Data from Cai et al. (1998a, 2001b). Small amount of betanin and isobetanin could be obtained
b
The value after 2 months. from some Amaranthus species, but pure betanin/isobetanin
c
The value after 10 weeks. samples used in this study were from red beet powder.
 Y.-Z. Cai et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 16 (2005) 370–376 375

Table 5. Color stability of jelly and ice cream with Amaranthus betacyanins and commercial colorants

Storage temperature Pigments Dosage (g/kg) Color retentiona (%) Half-life t1/2 (weeks)
After 18 weeks storage
Ice cream at K18 8C Amaranthus 0.602 94.4 –
Red radish 0.604 97.4 –
FD&C Red#3 0.041 96.9 –
Jelly at 4 8C Amaranthus 0.404 78.1 23.9
Red radish 0.602 79.3 24.8
FD&C Red#3 0.040 91.2 –
After 12 weeks storage
Jelly at 25 8C Amaranthus 0.404 23.8 4.2
Red radish 0.602 27.3 4.7
FD&C Red#3 0.040 88.5 –
After 4 weeks storage
Jelly at 37 8C Amaranthus 0.404 14.2 1.3
Red radish 0.602 29.8 3.2
FD&C Red#3 0.040 90.7 –
Data from Cai and Croke (1999).
a
Calculated with following formula: C value at X weeks!102/C value at zero storage time. C value, ChromaZ(a*2Cb*2)1/2 measured with
colorimeter, indicates color purity or saturation.

Their EC50 values ranged from 3.4 to 8.4 mM. Gomphrenin-
type betacyanins (meanZ3.7 mM) and betaxanthins
(meanZ4.2 mM) demonstrated strongest antioxidant
activity, 3–4-fold stronger than ascorbic acid (13.9 mM).
Antioxidant activity of the tested betalains decreases in
the following order: simple gomphrenins O acylated
gomphrenins O dopamine-betaxanthin O (S)-tryptophan-
betaxanthin O 3-methoxy-tyramine-betaxanthin O betanin
or isobetanin O celosianins O iresinins O amaranthine or
isoamaranthine. The relationship between the chemical
structure and activity of the betalains is that the free radical
scavenging activity usually increases with the numbers of
hydroxyl/imino-groups, and also depends on the position of
hydroxyl groups and glycosylation of aglycones in the
betalain molecules. The C-5 position of the hydroxyl group
on aglycones in the betalain molecules significantly
improves activity, and more glycosylation of aglycones
clearly reduces activity.
Utilization of Amaranthus betacyanins in model
food systems
Application of Amaranthus betacyanins in jelly, ice
cream, and beverage was evaluated in comparison
to commercial colorants (Cai & Croke, 1999).
The betacyanins in these model foods exhibited brighter
colour characteristics than red radish anthocyanins, with
similar colour stability during 20-week storage (%14 8C)
or during the initial 4-week storage (%25 8C), but were
less stable than red radish anthocyanins at 37 8C
(Table 5). The betacyanins were not as stable as synthetic
colorant FD&C Red #3 under most storage conditions.
Amaranthus betacyanins may be feasible natural colorants
for jelly, higher pH beverages, and ice cream under
selected conditions. Ascorbic acid at 0.1–0.5% has a slight
protective effect on Amaranthus betacyanin stability in
jelly, and a positive effect in a model beverage. Sucrose at
low concentrations (below 13%) has a slight negative
influence on Amaranthus betacyanin stability in a
beverage, but high concentrations of ascorbic acid plus
sucrose reduces pigment stability.
Spray-dried production of Amaranthus betacyanin
pigments
Amaranthus betacyanin extracts were spray-dried
using a range of maltodextrins [10–25 dextrose equival-
ent (DE)] as carrier and coating agents at 5 inlet/outlet
air temperatures and 4 feed solid contents (Cai & Croke,
2000). Higher inlet/outlet air temperatures caused greater

Table 6. Comparison of Amaranthus betacyanin powder and commercial beet powder (E162)

Spray-dried Powder moisture Hygroscopic

powder (%) moisture (g/100 g) Colour parametersa Betacyanin retention (%)b
L* a* b* H8
Amaranthus 3.1 48.5 49.4 32.6 K2.5 K4.3 87.9
E162 (CK) 4.9 58.8 51.5 19.6 0.7 2.0 84.3
Data from Cai and Croke (2000).
a
L*, a* and b* values were means of triplicate determinations.
b
Determined at 25 8C and 32% RH after 16 week storage.
376 Y.-Z. Cai et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 16 (2005) 370–376
betacyanin loss during spray drying, and affected slightly
the pigment stability during storage. Temperatures of
inlet/outlet (165–180 8C/92–96 8C) and 20–40% feed
solid content were shown to be optimal for production
of Amaranthus betacyanin extracts with less pigment
degradation. Adding maltodextrins significantly reduces
the hygroscopicity of the betacyanin extracts and
enhances storage stability. Maltodextrins of 25 and 10
DE gave the highest pigment retention (97.3 and 88.7%)
at 5 and 32% relative humidity (RH), respectively. The
25 DE/10 DE mixed powders provided a longer predicted
half-life (63.6 weeks) in a 32% RH container filled with
oxygen at 25 8C, compared to the 25 DE (49.2 weeks)
and the 10 DE (43.6 weeks) powders separately. The
best spray-dried pigment powder made was superior to
commercial red beet powder in physical properties
(Table 6). The results demonstrate the feasibility of
production of spray-dried Amaranthus betacyanin extracts
as a food-grade colorant.
Conclusions
Through systematic large-scale evaluation, some
superior red Amaranthus genotypes and yellow Celosia
genotypes were selected from several hundred genotypes of
the Amaranthaceae from collections. The superior geno-
types, especially Amaranthus genotypes, contain more
pigments, possess better agronomic traits and produce
higher biomass yield. A total of 16 kinds of betacyanins and
3 kinds of betaxanthins were identified and elucidated. The
betalains cannot only be used as natural colorants, but also
may be potential natural antioxidants. This investigation
also demonstrates the potential of Amaranthus pigments for
use as food colorants and the feasibility of spray-dried
production. Amaranthus has rapidly developed as a new
crop in the world, particularly in China. This new crop has
considerably wider adaptability and can grow in broader
climate regions than beet cultivars. Therefore, red-coloured
Amaranthus plants represent alternative sources of beta-
lains. Research and development of Amaranthus pigments
will promote further application of new natural colorants
and also enhance the value-added uses of Amaranthus in
China.
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