The cherry plum pigment as a natural red food colorant

Objectives of this study were to evaluate the pigment in an extract from the leaves and peels of the cherry plum, Prunus cerasifera, as to method of extraction, purification, identification, mutagenicity, stability, and sensory threshold levels.

An extraction and concentration system using an ethanol-hydrochloric acid solvent and in vacuo evaporation, was developed to maximize pigment removal. Stability studies at low pH levels (<5) indicated a use for the extract in acid food systems, particularly beverages. Taste and odor threshold levels of the extracts in a citrus flavored liquid were above the depth of color needed in some of the red beverages marketed today. Further, no evidence that the extract was niutagenic was found in a single test utilizing four histidine operon mutant strains of Salmonella typhimurium.

Colorometric studies indicated the pigment from the cherry plum was a very close match both from visible color and light energy absorbed, to the partially banned FD&C Red No. 4.

The anthocyanin pigment present in both the leaves and peels was cyanidin with a single glucoside in the 3 position.