Structure Of Fruit Pigments

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PIGMENTS
□ Pigments are found in fruits and vegetables, they can be either water soluble or fat soluble and are found in the cell sap present in the cell tissues. Most of the pigments occur in plastids- specialized bodies lying in the protoplasm of the cell.
□ The bright colors of many vegetables & fruits contribute much to their appeal. This is because of the pigments that are present in various parts of the cell tissues that contribute to the color.
PIGMENTS IN FRUITS:
□ Fruits are valued for their attractive color and their pleasing aroma. These factors appeal the individual from the producer to the consumer to buy the product.
□ Most of the pigments present in fruits are water soluble and are present in the vacuoles of the cell – a unique …show more content…

These water soluble pigments are present in the cell sap rather than in the plastids. Flavonoids include Anthocyanins (blue flowers), the Anthoxanthins (yellow flowers) also called flavones and the third group which contains a number of related phenolic compounds, many erroneously categorized as ‘tannins.’
STRUCTURE:
Flavonoids are phenolic compounds related to flavones for which one group of water soluble pigments was originally named. Chemically, they have the general structure of a 15-carbon skeleton, which consists of two phenyl rings (A and B) and heterocyclic ring (C). This carbon structure can be abbreviated C6-C3-C6.
ANTHOXANTHINS
Anthoxanthins are colorless, white, and cream, to yellow in color depending on the pH and are present in all plants along with other pigments. They are present in onions, potatoes, green leafy vegetables where their color is masked by chlorophyll. One of the most common Anthoxanthins is the flavonol quercetin. …show more content…

Beetroots contain Betalains. The term Betacyanin has been used to denote the red pigment and Betaxanthin the yellow pigments in beet. Beets are known to contain two groups of related pigments the yellow pigment and the purple-red.
STRUCTURE:
The major red pigment is betanin which when hydrolysed yields the aglycone. Betanidin is a derivative of indole. The chief yellow pigment is vulgaxanthin I. Acid does not affect the color of the betacyanins in beets dramatically as it does in many anthocyanins. Regardless of the structure, the pigments in beet behave like anthocyanin. Betanine has been considered as a possible replacement for food coloring agents to certain red foods.
For example: chopped and sliced beets cooked in a large amount of water loses their pigments and become pale and unattractive because the leaching of the pigments from the beet takes place. Hence they should be cooked in small amount of water with a lid on the pan.

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