Dados do Trabalho

Título

OPTIMIZING GENIPAP (GENIPA AMERICANA L.) BLUE DYE EXTRACTION USING GLUTAMIC ACID

Introdução

Dyes are highly important for the food industry. Due to this, natural dyes have great potential because of their bioactive compounds and the harm that artificial dyes cause to humans. Genipin, the structure responsible for the blue pigment extracted from the jenipapo (Genipa americana L.), has been studied regarding its stability. It shows the highest stability of its pigments against changes caused by pH variations, light exposure, and temperature fluctuations. However, it requires methods that improve its stability for potential food applications. Therefore, this study aims to improve the blue dye extraction procedure using glutamic acid, an amino acid present in jenipapo that participates in the formation of blue pigments.

Material e Métodos

Analyses were conducted on four different dye formulations: S1 - extraction in water; S2 - extraction in water and glutamic acid; S3 - extraction in 50% ethanol; and S4 - extraction in 50% ethanol and glutamic acid, subjected to two storage conditions: room temperature in the presence of light (L) and room temperature in the absence of light (A), and analyzed for pH, antioxidant activity, color, blue pigment quantification, and stability, with the last two analyses performed over 408 hours.

Resultados e Discussão

Regarding pH, the samples with added glutamic acid showed a more acidic pH (3.86; 3.82), with no significant differences between the types of extraction. In terms of color, variation was only observed among the samples extracted with water; glutamic acid promoted a greater color intensity of the extract, resembling the other samples extracted with ethanol. For antioxidant capacity, the samples with glutamic acid showed higher results, with S4 at 2.94 (μmolT/g fruit) by the DPPH method and S2 at 17.09 (μmolT/g fruit) by the ABTS method. The concentration of blue pigments in S2 and S4 increased significantly, with increases of 181% (S2L), 166% (S2A), 126% (S4L), and 178% (S4A). S2 and S4 also exhibited similar behavior regarding stability, demonstrating the effectiveness of using glutamic acid in optimizing this extraction.

Conclusão

The addition of glutamic acid significantly enhanced the extraction and stability of blue pigments from jenipapo, showing promise for improved natural food coloring applications.