Chapter 17
Carotenoids as Food Additives
Ágnes Farkas, Tímea Bencsik, and József Deli
Abstract Carotenoids are hydrophobic pigments with a tetraterpene skeleton,
widely distributed in higher plants, as well as microalgae from both marine and freshwaters. Animals and humans are unable to synthesize them, and they need to obtain
them from dietary sources. The most characteristic feature of carotenoids is the long
series of conjugated double bonds forming the central part of the molecule, providing
their shape, chemical reactivity and light-absorbing properties. The colour, ranging
from pale yellow to red, and the antioxidant properties of carotenoids highly depend
on these conjugated double bonds and other functional groups in the molecule.
Food additives are generally divided into six categories: taste enhancers, preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, antioxidants and colouring agents. This chapter is
dedicated to the latter two categories. Carotenoid-containing plants (e.g. saffron
stigmas, pepper pericarps) and their extracts have been used as food colourants for
centuries. They are generally considered safe; however, there are only a few studies
about their stability, biochemistry, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and toxicology.
Although carotenoids are relatively unstable due to their susceptibility to light, heat,
oxygen, autoxidation and isomerization, there are several commercially synthesized
carotenoids (e.g. β-carotene), which are accepted colour additives. Today, some of the
most important carotenoids used in food, feed and cosmetics industries as natural
colourants are produced by microalgae in bioreactors (fermentation technology).
Some of the naturally occurring carotenoids (e.g. β-carotene, astaxanthin) are widely
commercialized, while others (e.g. lutein, canthaxanthin, zeaxanthin, lycopene) are
used less frequently. The global carotenoid market is estimated at US$ > 1 billion
per year, and it is still constantly growing.
Keywords Food colouring · Antioxidants · Carotenoids · Microalgae
Á. Farkas · T. Bencsik · J. Deli (B)
Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
e-mail: jozsef.deli@aok.pte.hu
Á. Farkas
e-mail: agnes.farkas@aok.pte.hu
T. Bencsik
e-mail: timea.bencsik@aok.pte.hu
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Pigments from Microalgae Handbook,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50971-2_17
421
Carotenoids as Food Additives
Ágnes Farkas, Tímea Bencsik, and József Deli
Abstract Carotenoids are hydrophobic pigments with a tetraterpene skeleton,
widely distributed in higher plants, as well as microalgae from both marine and freshwaters. Animals and humans are unable to synthesize them, and they need to obtain
them from dietary sources. The most characteristic feature of carotenoids is the long
series of conjugated double bonds forming the central part of the molecule, providing
their shape, chemical reactivity and light-absorbing properties. The colour, ranging
from pale yellow to red, and the antioxidant properties of carotenoids highly depend
on these conjugated double bonds and other functional groups in the molecule.
Food additives are generally divided into six categories: taste enhancers, preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, antioxidants and colouring agents. This chapter is
dedicated to the latter two categories. Carotenoid-containing plants (e.g. saffron
stigmas, pepper pericarps) and their extracts have been used as food colourants for
centuries. They are generally considered safe; however, there are only a few studies
about their stability, biochemistry, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and toxicology.
Although carotenoids are relatively unstable due to their susceptibility to light, heat,
oxygen, autoxidation and isomerization, there are several commercially synthesized
carotenoids (e.g. β-carotene), which are accepted colour additives. Today, some of the
most important carotenoids used in food, feed and cosmetics industries as natural
colourants are produced by microalgae in bioreactors (fermentation technology).
Some of the naturally occurring carotenoids (e.g. β-carotene, astaxanthin) are widely
commercialized, while others (e.g. lutein, canthaxanthin, zeaxanthin, lycopene) are
used less frequently. The global carotenoid market is estimated at US$ > 1 billion
per year, and it is still constantly growing.
Keywords Food colouring · Antioxidants · Carotenoids · Microalgae
Á. Farkas · T. Bencsik · J. Deli (B)
Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
e-mail: jozsef.deli@aok.pte.hu
Á. Farkas
e-mail: agnes.farkas@aok.pte.hu
T. Bencsik
e-mail: timea.bencsik@aok.pte.hu
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Pigments from Microalgae Handbook,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50971-2_17
421