Dehydrated Basella alba Fruit Juice as a Novel Natural Colorant: Pigment Stability, In Vivo Food Safety Evaluation and Anti-Inflammatory Mechanism Characterization.
Flesh of Basella alba L. mature fruits bearing deep-violet juice provides a novel and potential source of natural colorant. To minimize the pigment purification process and warrant safety acceptability, B. alba colorant powder (BACP) was prepared using mature fruits through a practical batch preparation and subjected to fundamental pigment characterization, food safety assessment and bio-function evaluation. Yield of the dehydrated B. alba colorant powder (BACP) was 37 g/kg fresh fruits. Reconstituted aqueous solution of the BACP exhibited an identical visible spectrum (400-700 nm) as that of fresh juice. Color of the solution (absorbance at 540 nm) was stable in a broad pH ranged from 3 to 8 and enhanced by co-presence of calcium and magnesium ions, while was rapidly bleached by ferrous and ferric ions. For in vivo food safety evaluation, ICR mice were daily gavage administered with BACP up to 1000 mg/kg body weight for 28 days. Organ weight determination, serum biochemical analysis and histopathological examination of hearts, livers, lungs and kidneys revealed no obvious health hazard. In vitro anti-inflammatory activity of BACP was characterized in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. BACP exerted potent anti-inflammatory activity by down-regulation of inflammatory mediators including nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-12 and the blockage of IκB kinase (IKK)/IκB/nuclear factor-κ B (NFκB) activation cascade. These results supported that BACP may serve as a beneficial alternative of natural food colorant.
['Huang|Fu-Long|FL|', 'Chiou|Robin Y-Y|RY|', 'Chen|Wei-Cheng|WC|', 'Ko|Huey-Jiun|HJ|', 'Lai|Li-Jung|LJ|', 'Lin|Shu-Mei|SM|']
D000410:Alanine Transaminase D000818:Animals D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases D001806:Blood Urea Nitrogen D002784:Cholesterol D003404:Creatinine D003890:Desiccation D015232:Dinoprostone D015536:Down-Regulation D005505:Food Coloring Agents D005511:Food Handling D059022:Food Safety D005638:Fruit D000067030:Fruit and Vegetable Juices D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration D018664:Interleukin-12 D053583:Interleukin-1beta D015850:Interleukin-6 D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase D008070:Lipopolysaccharides D008297:Male D051379:Mice D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR D016328:NF-kappa B D009569:Nitric Oxide D011208:Powders D000067996:RAW 264.7 Cells D064028:Tracheophyta D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Basella alba fruits Natural colorant Food safety Anti-inflammatory activity