Toxicological and safety assessment of tartrazine as a synthetic food additive on health biomarkers: A review

Recently, progressive use of synthetic food additives increase the attention paid on their benefit and toxicity in food, especially for the young. One of these additives is artificial azo dyes tartrazine. This study aimed to provide an outline of the existing evidence on the beneficial and side effect of food additive with special reference to tartrazine on different organ health. The methods include updated search for the relevant databases. The studies included a description of the types of food additives and products containing tartrazine and focused on the effect of tartrazine on liver, kidney function, lipid prole, oxidative stress biomarkers, nervous system, hyperactivity, behavior, cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity and some bioelement levels of tartrazine. Several studies were identified and some investigated advantage and disadvantage of tartrazine. Summary of the study provides potentially harmful effects of tartrazine on liver, renal function, lipid profiles, behavior, carcinogenicity and forthcoming research recommendation are outlined. This review gives a broad evaluation of the safety and various toxicity effects of tartrazine. It can be concluded that there is a need for professional assistance for consumers regarding food safety issues. Cumulative indications have been increased, demonstrating the potential danger of tartrazine, and the possibility to avoid its consumption.   Key word: Food additives, tartrazine, liver, kidney, oxidative stress, cancer.