BR-102020026302-B1 - PROCESS FOR PRODUCING NATURAL BLUE DYE

Abstract

PROCESS FOR PRODUCING NATURAL BLUE DYE. The present invention relates to a process for producing a natural, liquid, blue dye using high-intensity ultrasound technology assisted by an external heat source in a short processing time. The liquid blue dye has applications in various food products.

Inventors

• ERIC KEVEN SILVA
• MARIA ANGELA DE ALMEIDA MEIRELES PETENATE
• MARIA ISABEL LANDIM NEVES
• MONIQUE MARTINS STRIEDER

Assignees

• UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE CAMPINAS - UNICAMP

Dates

Publication Date

20260317

Application Date

20201221

Claims (1)

1. 1. Production process of a natural blue dye characterized by comprising the following steps: 1. grinding the pulp of the green genipap fruit; 2. reconstituting whey powder in deionized water in a 1:9 mass ratio; 3. adding ground genipap pulp and reconstituted whey in a 1:5 mass ratio; 4. applying the mixture obtained in (3) to the acoustic field using an ultrasonic probe with a diameter of 13 mm operating at 19 kHz and a nominal power of 400 W, equivalent to an acoustic power of 20 ± 1 W and an intensity of 15 ± 1 W/cm2, at a temperature of 70°C for 10 min; 5. filtering the biomass by mechanical filtration with a nylon filter; and 6. obtaining the natural blue dye from the filtrate resulting from step 5.

Description

Field of invention [1] The present invention relates to a process for producing a natural, liquid, blue dye using high-intensity ultrasound technology assisted by an external heat source in a short processing time. [2] Liquid blue dye has applications in various food products. Fundamentals of the invention [3] A new consumer market, conscious and with broad access to information through the internet, has emerged in recent years. The demand for innovative products obtained from green processes, free of toxic solvents, formulated from natural and functional ingredients, promoting human health and well-being, has put pressure on the global production sector. [4] In this context, the use of natural colorants as ingredients in food formulations to replace synthetic colorants is one of the main challenges for the industry worldwide. Color is the main sensory aspect in food and an important requirement for consumer choice. The loss of natural color in food during processing and storage and the search for products with a more attractive appearance are factors responsible for the use of color additives by the food industry. For this purpose, artificial colorants are preferred because they have greater stability, coloring power and are cheaper than natural ones. [5] However, in recent decades concern about the potential risks of artificial colorants to human health has grown significantly, leading the modern food industry to replace these types of additives with alternative natural colorants, which, in addition to coloring power, can also provide functional properties to formulated products. For this reason, obtaining natural pigments for use as natural colorants has become an emerging research area. [6] Furthermore, the valorization of Brazilian plant matrices and by-products of the food industry has been of great interest for the production of value-added coloring compounds for use in various segments, such as nutraceuticals and food, being a sustainable approach that allows meeting the needs of the productive sector and the demands of the consumer market for colorants derived from natural pigments. [7] Natural dyes of red, yellow and green colors are already widely used in food, however, blue is still the main challenge for the dye industry. Natural sources of blue dyes, in addition to being scarce, have not yet provided a stable dye with high coloring power that can replace synthetic ones. [8] However, among the plant sources that are precursors of blue dye, the Brazilian fruit jenipapo (Genipa Americana L.) is currently the most promising alternative. This fruit contains genipin, an iridoid that, when interacting with primary amines, forms a blue-colored compound. This polymeric complex is highly stable to variations in pH and temperature, allowing its wide application in food products. Obtaining the natural blue dye from the crosslinking of genipin extracted from jenipapo pulp and primary amines from different sources is already established. [9] However, the process of obtaining the dye involves the use of toxic solvents and several steps, which makes the process long and expensive. [10] The genipap, a fruit native to Brazil, is a promising source of genipin, an iridoid precursor of the blue color. Genipin, catalyzed by oxygen and heat, reacts with primary amines producing blue-colored complexes. Genipin-rich genipap extracts have been obtained using solvents such as methanol in water, ethanol and water. However, the production of the blue dye requires the addition of some compound containing primary amine groups to form the blue complexes. [11] NEVES et al. (2020) and STRIEDER et al. (2020) used milk as a solvent to extract genipin from green genipap fruits. In this way, through an ultrasound-assisted process, the authors obtained a blue dye by the simultaneous extraction and reaction of genipin with the primary amines of milk. However, heat treatments would still be necessary for the microbiological stabilization of these dyes. [12] The processes employed to obtain extracts using conventional solvents are expensive because they involve more than one step and use high pressure, enzymes, micro and ultrafiltration membranes, or may not guarantee efficient extraction because they do not provide sufficient energy for genipin extraction, such as agitation-assisted solid-liquid extraction. In addition, after extraction, these processes still require a solvent removal step, making the process even more expensive. [13] In a scientific article by BUTLER (2003) entitled “Mechanism and kinetics of the crosslinking reaction between biopolymers containing primary amine groups and genipin”, the crosslinking reaction between genipin and primary amine groups is evaluated, suggesting the formation of bright blue pigments. The use of pure raw materials makes the process economically unfeasible when compared to the present invention. It is important to highlight that the chemical precursor of the blue compounds, genipin, was ins