STABILITY OF BETACYANIN PIGMENTS AND ANTIOXIDANTS INAYRAMPO (OPUNTIA SOEHRENSII BRITTON AND ROSE) SEEDEXTRACTS AND AS A YOGURT NATURAL COLORANT

摘要

Ayrampo (Opuntia soehrensii) seed extracts (AE), traditionally used in the Andeanregion as source of pigments, were investigated for betacyanins (BC), total phenoliccompounds (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (AC). BC stability at 80C up to90 min at pH 3, 4 and 5, during storage at 4 and 25C, and in yogurt (0.1 and 3%fat) was compared with red beet extracts (RBE). BC half-lives (t1/2) were similarbetween AE and RBE at 80C, but during storage at 4 and 25C, t1/2 of AE wereapproximately threefold and twofold (272 and 26 days) of the respective RBEt1/2(95 and 13 days). Color retention of dyed yogurts was not influenced by fatcontent, but AE showed better color retention (∼95%) at 4 weeks of storage comparedwith RBE (∼91%). Overall, these results demonstrate that ayrampo seedscontain BC and phenolics that contribute to AC with great potential as a naturalcolorant for functional foods.