Extraction of a Food Colorant from Red Beet and Evaluation of Its Stability

In this work, extraction of a food colorant from red beet and evaluation of its stability by using UV-Vis spectrophotometry was studied. After the step of preparation of red beets, different methods of extraction (solid- liquid extraction and juicing) and effective process parameters such as pH, temperature, light and darkness were evaluated. The extraction of pigment by a juicing method is better than other and it has the most stability at temperatures less than 25 ºC, pH = 5 and darkness. Due to the specification of red beet pigment it has considerable potential for use in the food industry particularly in cold foodproducts. J. Color Sci. Tech. 3(2010), 243-250 © Institute for Color Science and Technology.