The colour of food is an integral part of our culture and enjoyment of life. Colour is also an important parameter for sensory analysis and consumer preference. However, the use of synthetic colour could be detrimental to the health of a consumer. Therefore, in today's progressive world there is a change from synthetic to biocolour. This article will allow us to understand what the biocolours are, how they can be extracted and where they can be used.
The word BIOCOLOUR consists of two words BIO meaning natural meaning and COLOUR anything that is used for the purpose of colouring. Bicolour is any dye obtained from any vegetable, animal or mineral, that is able to colour food, drugs, cosmetics or any part of the human body. These natural colours come from a variety of sources such as seeds, fruits and vegetables, leaves, algae and insects. According to the application, a suitable natural colour can be achieved by taking into account factors such as pH, heat, light, storage conditions and interaction with other ingredients of the formula or recipe.
With the advent of strict legislative regulations and the growing awareness among consumers about food safety, bi-colour have become the food choice, as they are extracted from sources of biological origin and are much safer than their synthetic counterparts . Biocolour can be a dye, pigment or substance that can confer colour when added or applied to a drug, cosmetic or human body but is of biological origin derived from plants, insects or microbes. There are a number of natural colours, but only a few are available in an amount sufficient to be useful for the industry, as they are extracted directly from plants, flowers, fruits, leaves and roots. Therefore, it is advantageous to produce natural colours from different methods. The trend towards natural foods has led in recent years to the replacement of natural or natural synthetic colours in many foods. Table 2 shows the outstanding characteristics of some important biocolours.
Benefits of Biocolours:
1. They have a protective role against lethal photo oxidation.
2. Inhibit mutagenesis.
3. The use of biocolor can improve immune systems.
4. They can also lead to inhibition of tumor evolution.