Colorant & Flavoring

A nature colorant is a food additive that is derived from plant materials like fruits, vegetables, flowers and minerals. Plant-based dyes are less toxic than synthetic ones and are biodegradable, some plant colorants were consumed for their safety and their unique color while some were used to add flavoring and food calling, most of them also have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.

Carotenoids containing oxygenated functional groups such as hydroxyl, acyl and ketone were found to be carotenoids in livestock, poultry and aquatic products, including lutein, lycopene and zeaxanthin. Carotenoids in feed exist in the form of palmitic acid diester, and feed additives are absorbed in the form of free state through animal digestion, which is mainly combined with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and absorbed. The absorbed carotenoids enter the bloodstream in a free state and circulate into tissues such as the skin and egg yolk. Here, the carotenoids are reconverted to palmiolate diesters and deposited, giving the skin and egg yolks their preferred color yellow. At present, the natural pigments widely used in the feed additive market mainly include a marigold extract (lutein) and pepper extract (capsanthin).

Adding coloring agents to feed can alter the color of the feed or mask the colour of some non-traditional feed ingredients, while also acting as an appetite stimulant and phagostimulant. These natural pigments can improve the color of livestock, poultry and aquatic products, such as lutein extract can make poultry eggs, milk butter, fish and shrimp and other aquatic products have better quality and beautiful color. It has been reported that approximately 30% to 45% of lutein can be deposited in the yolk if 0.3 to 1.0mg of lutein is consumed per chicken per day, and only 15% to 20% of lutein can be deposited in the yolk if the pigment intake is increased to 5mg or higher. By eating green plants, crustaceans convert the carotenoids in plants into prawn and chanterelle flavanthin and deposit them in the body. Fish feed on large amounts of crustaceans and plankton to give their flesh a fresh color. Goldfish and shrimp can change the composition of pigment after absorption, such as lutein into astaxanthin, and then in the body tissue deposition.