Enrichment of Pomegranate Juice Pigments with Polymeric Resins and Preparation of its Powder by Spray Drying Method

Pomegranate juice is a known natural source of anthocyanins, including the glycosidic derivatives of delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin. The use of resins in various industries has a long history and, in this study, resin was used to enrich anthocyanins in pomegranate juice. The anthocyanin pigment in pomegranate juice was isolated and purified by SEPLITE®LXA10 resin, and finally, the anthocyanin powder was obtained by spray drying with high quality and efficiency. The purity of enriched anthocyanins is above 90%, while the amount of pigment in pomegranate itself is 20% or less. The yield of the powder obtained from enriched anthocyanin was 89.6% and pomegranate juice was 21%. The proposed method led to enrichment of anthocyanins by resins and removal of unnecessary additives and increases the quality and intensity of natural dye obtained. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of anthocyanin-enriched powder showed a uniform, spherical structure of particles that were of better quality than pomegranate juice powder. Particle sizes were between 1 and 6 μm with a spherical structure. Due to the high cost of anthocyanins, its use in the food industry and high imports into the country, we obtained a relatively pure anthocyanin pigment. Purification of anthocyanins from pomegranate juice is an economical method for producing natural red pigment and its uses in the cosmetics, health and food industries.