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Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology
Volume 2004 (2004), Issue 5, Pages 326-331
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/S1110724304403052
Correspondence article

Quantification and Purification of Mulberry Anthocyanins with Macroporous Resins

Xueming Liu, Gengsheng Xiao, Weidong Chen, Yujuan Xu, and Jijun Wu

The Sericultural Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 133 Yihenglu, Dongguanzhuang, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510610, China

Received 3 March 2004; Revised 24 June 2004; Accepted 18 July 2004

Copyright © 2004 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Total anthocyanins in different cultivars of mulberry were measured and a process for the industrial preparation of mulberry anthocyanins as a natural food colorant was studied. In 31 cultivars of mulberry, the total anthocyanins, calculated as cyanidin 3-glucoside, ranged from 147.68 to 2725.46 mg/L juice. Extracting and purifying with macroporous resins was found to be an efficient potential method for the industrial production of mulberry anthocyanins as a food colorant. Of six resins tested, X-5 demonstrated the best adsorbent capability for mulberry anthocyanins (91 mg/mL resin). The adsorption capacity of resins increased with the surface area and the pore radius. Residual mulberry fruit juice after extraction of pigment retained most of its nutrients, except for anthocyanins, and may provide a substrate for further processing.