ABSTRACT
Extraction and determination of curcumin pigment from turmeric and using these pigments as alternative natural yellow colorants in some processed foods i. e. spaghetti. Also the effect of using turmeric extract as natural antioxidant on sunflower oil was also undertaken. Turmeric contained 523 mg curcumin/100g turmeric. The best carrier for curcumin was lactose followed by dextrin, soluble starch and glucose, respectively. On the other hand, color and high pigment stability of curcumin from turmeric were at neutral and alkaline conditions, also [pH values from 7 to 9] on temperature averaging [from 70°C to 90°C]. While, the degradation of curcumin being 5% of the total pigment after 150 min at 100°C. Antioxidant activity of turmeric extract was evaluated by measuring rancimat test on sunflower oil by adding 100 to 500 ppm turmeric extract. However, sunflower oil containing 200 to 500 ppm turmeric extract recorded, the higher induction period compared to the sunflower oil containing 200 ppm [BHT] synthetia antioxidant. Analysis of the variance for sensory evaluation of spaghetti prepared from 0.15 and 0.20% curcumin pigment revealed the highest score of color, taste, texture and overall acceptability compared with the control and other tested samples