Copigmentation with Chlorogenic and Ferulic Acid Affected Color and Anthocyanin Stability in Model Beverages Colored with Sambucus peruviana, Sambucus nigra, and Daucus carota during Storage

The food industry is looking for alternatives to synthetic colorants. Anthocyanins (ACNs) are suitable replacements due to their color characteristics and potential health benefits. The application of sauco (Sambucus peruviana, SP) as a potential source of ACN-based colorants was evaluated and compared to elderberry (Sambucus nigra, SN) and an extract from purple carrots (PC). Color and pigment stability were evaluated using a model beverage system during eight weeks of storage. Copigmentation with chlorogenic acid (CGA) and ferulic acid (FA) were also evaluated. SP ACNs provided darker and more intense colors than those obtained with SN but less intense than those obtained with PC. Addition of CGA and FA resulted in significantly darker colors with higher chroma in beverages colored with SP and SN but not in beverages colored with PC. Copigmentation with FA reduced monomeric pigment half-lives for all ACN sources but increased the chroma half-lives of beverages colored with SP and SN, from 23 to 49 weeks, and from 23 to 55 weeks, respectively. Analyses using liquid chromatography coupled to photodiode array detection and mass spectrometry showed that interaction between non-acylated ACNs and FA resulted in the formation of pyranoanthocyanins. Overall, ACNs from non-acylated sources such as SP, in combination with FA, showed potential for commercial food applications.