PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES, FUNCTIONAL, COLOR AND STABILITY OF ANTOCIANINS IN ISOTONIC SYSTEMS MODEL ADDED TO PURIFIED POTATO EXTRACTS OF CUNHÁ (Clitoria ternatea L.)
Key words: Clitoria ternatea, natural dye, isotonic.
Sensory characteristics of foods are largely responsible for acceptance of consumers to product, including color. Dye have been used for a long time by industry, however consumers are now looking for more natural ingredients and products with reduction of synthetic additives, the substitution of artificial dyes by natural pigments is of particular interest, since some artificial dyes have also been associated to many adverse reactions such as hyperactive behavior and allergies, especially for children. Among the natural sources for pigments, we can highlight the cunha flower (Clitoria ternatea L.), a perennial herbaceous plant with petals of blue to purple and white shades, which has a potential as a source of natural dye with functional characteristics. The pigments present in the petals are recognized as bioactive compounds that associate with antioxidant action, antihyperglycemic activity, antihypertensive, among others. Thus, the general objective of the present work is to extract and characterize a natural dye from cunha petals and to evaluate the sensorial effect of the addition of this pigment in isotonic, as well as the functional effects. This project intends to obtain a natural pigment with potential food applications, which presents technological characteristics similar to those available in the market and associated with functional properties.