Prunus mahaleb L. fruit extracts: a novel source for natural food pigments

There is an increasing consumer and retailer demand for new natural colorants. Anthocyanins are a class of molecules already used as water-soluble natural color- ant and for their health effects. Prunus mahaleb L. is a tree native to the Mediterranean area, producing highly pig- mented small-stone fruits currently not used for fresh con- sumption due to their astringent and sour taste. In the pre- sent study, we set up a protocol to obtain a "mahaleb fruit concentrated extract" (mfce) and characterized it chemi- cally by high-performance liquid chromatography/diode array detection. Anthocyanins, flavonols, flavanols, cou- marin, sugars, ascorbic acid and organic acids were identi- fied and quantified. After characterization, the antioxidant capacity of the mfce was assayed in vitro by three different methods: Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity and Folin-Ciocalteu assays. The concentrated extract produced and characterized in this study showed a high content of anthocyanins, flavonols and coumarin and a strong antioxidant capacity. Therefore, mfce may be of interest as a natural food colorant and as an ingredient in the formulation of functional foods.