Anthocyanins as food colorants

Abstract

Anthocyanins are phenolic compounds that are present in nature in the form of pigments responsible for giving color to some flowers, fruits, vegetables and cereals, are considered secondary metabolites with biological activity and are currently a great option for the competitive replacement of synthetic dyes, Mainly because it is a source of antioxidants to which therapeutic and medicinal effects are attributed. In recent years the isolation of anthocyanins has been able to give color to beverages, yogurt, chewing gums and sweets, demonstrating that it is possible to replace natural dyes by artificial ones, so it is very important to know the biochemical aspects of these pigments.