A Study on Vegetable Dye from the Seeds of Sinduri (Bixa orellana)

摘要

Vegetable dye was extracted from the seeds of sinduri {Bixa orellana (Linn.)} using water (soaking method) and ethyl acetate (soxhlet and reflux methods) as solvents. Reflux method gave the highest yield (10.1%) while soxhlet method yielded 7.10% of dye. In soaking method, seeds were soaked in water for four different time periods. The highest yield (8.93%) was obtained in 18 hours out of 6,12, 18 and 24 hours soaking periods. Considering the chemicals and processing cost, water soaking method appeared the best although it gave slightly lesser amount of dye compared to other methods. The performance of the extracted dye for its edibility was studied in laboratory against rats. After feeding the dye, mixed with water, the physiological changes of rats were observed. The test showed no adverse effect, and it seemed that the dye is non-toxic to animals. Thus, it can be suggested as a substitute to chemical dye as food colourants.