Red Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus Polyrhizus) Peel As A Natural Alternative Food Coloring Agent For Processed Meat

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Color, in one form or another, has been added to our foods for centuries (Parthasarathy etal., 2007). Today's food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic manufacturer can draw from an array of dyes and pigments, synthetically or naturally derived, to color their products. Although synthetic colors have been favored over the past 100 years, processors have recently turned to naturally derived colors as a variable alternative. Moreover, safety concerns against synthetic color has been increased, leading to a high demand for natural color. Considering the immense potentiality of dragon fruit, a project was undertaken to produce an alternative food coloring agent from red dragon fruit.

METHODS

Red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) was collected. The fruit was washed with potable tap water and wiped to dry. The fresh peel was then separated from the ripe fruit before cutting it into small pieces (2mm). The sample was further dried at 50°C in an oven and ground until pulverized. The product red dragon fruit powder was used instead of synthetic food coloring in making processed meat products (tocino, skinless, longganisa).

RESULTS

The utilization of red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) peel, which is often wasted as an alternative natural food coloring for processed meat products, was feasible. This is due to the organic compound, betalains, which can be found on red dragon fruit pee. According to the studies made by Kim et al., (2011) and Wybraniec et al (2012), the coloring application of the dragon fruit comes from the betalain pigments, betacyanin, and betaxanthins. Betacyanins include betanin, phyllocactins, and betanidins (Kim et al., 2011 Wybraneic et al., 2012). Betalains in the dragon fruit pulp and peel were reported to be similar (Wybraneic et al., 2001). Moreover, according to the study conducted by Harivaindaran (2008), when the pigments from the red dragon fruit peel were dried, it resulted in a comparable pigment retention which is promising in developing a natural dye in powdered form. Therefore color preparation from the peel in powdered form was possible for application.

DISCUSSIONS

Red dragon fruit peel is a potential source of red color for food coloring. Its natural origin is meeting the consumers' preference for healthier food products. Furthermore, red dragon fruit peel is applicable as an alternative source of natural food coloring agent that doesn't have any adverse effect to the health.