Saffron florets (sepals and petals), which are usually thrown away after extracting the cream and stigma, also contain colored substances that can be used in the food industry, pharmaceutical, pastries, making soda and jelly which by using it we can prevent currency withdrawal from the country.
To extract and purify colors within saffron Miss Ekrami Birjandi Nejhad blended perianth and added white alcohol and was able to extract colors existing in the perianth, and with distillation the color essence liquid in the alcohol, the condensed essence coming from this procedure is about 7 percent of the perianth’s weight.
Based on Miss Ekrami Birjandi Nejhad’s studies the color extracted from perianth have these characteristics;
- A) the color components is built up from Anthocyans, Flavonoids and Glycosides.
- B) color components are liquid in water and doesn’t left behind any kind of sediment.
- C) these color components does not have a stable colord, in different PH and in variant times and temperature and. In Acidic conditions usually the main color is yellow and pink, and in base conditions it’s green and light green.
Anthocyans are among Glycosides pigment group which becomes Anthocyanidin by adding suger and other components, therefore there might be a little Anthocyanidin within anthocyans. Anthocyans are found in 3 colors, red, blue and purple.
Anthocyans are liquid in cell sap and are found in perianth, fruits, stalk, leaves and roots. The main source of anthocyans’ extraction is florid specially in grape pomace. In alcohol factories instead of throwing away the grape pomace they extract the anthocyanin in it. Existence of the color pigments in plants specially in their perianth attracts insects and birds. Anthocyanins usually come with colorless Flavonoids such as Flavons and Flavonols. To separate different Anthocyanins many methods are used like; chromatography and Spectrophotometry.
Flavonoids are a combination of C6-C3-C6 that C6 is the benzene ring. Flavonoids are classified based on structure of C3, usually C3 is combined with oxygen and creates Flavons.
Flavons and Flavonols and their Glycosides are found as liquid pigments in the vacuoles of plants and their colors are usually faded yellow and ivory white.