Production of safe green natural colorant from carrot leaves [Daucus carota L.]

ABSTRACT

The amount of agricultural wastes seems to be high and could be used to obtain some important products. Carrot wastes represent about 36% of the total crop. These wastes could be used to produce compounds of beneficial and economic values such as natural green coloring matters to be used in manufacturing food products. The results obtained ascertained the possibility of producing natural green colour from carrot [leaves] to be used in food industries. Carrot leaves chlorophyll content degraded to about 50% of the initial content after 1 week storage under refrigerated conditions at 5 degreeC in polyethylene bags. The loss reached to 92% at the end of storage [six weeks] under the same conditions. Gradual increase of pheophytin content occurred during the first 3 weeks of storage and gradually decreased until the end of storage. The best treatment for extraction of green colour from the carrot leaves was by hot water at 95 +/- 3 degree C for 3 minutes containing 0.5% MgO and 1% CaCo3. Natural green colour was obtained as powder using the freeze-drying method. Addition of natural green colour [powder] to some foods increased their ash content. An increase in mineral salts such as Ca, Mg, Fe, Na, Cu and Zn occurred, in addition to improving taste, appearance and overall acceptability of such enriched foods with this natural green colour