Premium
Chlorophyll as a Color and Functional Ingredient
Author(s) -
Humphrey A.M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2004.tb10710.x
Subject(s) - chlorophyll , confusion , pigment , photosynthesis , chlorophyll a , ingredient , botany , carotenoid , biology , chemistry , biochemical engineering , horticulture , food science , organic chemistry , psychology , psychoanalysis , engineering
Chlorophyll is the most widely distributed natural pigment and occurs in the leaves and other parts of almost all plants. Its function in the role of photosynthesis is universally known and yet its natural biosynthesis, action, and ultimate fate in a senescent plant are still not fully understood. The progressive degradation of chlorophyll through a series of similarly colored derivatives, coupled with the universal use of a variety of trivial names for them, has given rise to much confusion about their identities. The instability of chlorophyll in harvested and processed plant products has promoted extensive research into methods for its preservation as well as to methods for its isolation, analysis, and concentration from cheaper sources, with a view to its use for natural color reinforcement. The availability of such isolated chlorophyll and chlorophyll‐derived extracts has also stimulated an interest in the study of their potentials as functional ingredients. Since the second half of the last century when chlorophyll extracts were first used for odor removal an increasing activity of research into the more general area of bioactivity has been reported. In some cases, the explanation for the positive results obtained has not been made obvious and the use of poorly defined pigments has made the reproducibility of results rather difficult. Published evidence for the positive bioactivity of chlorophyll extracts is clear and the way forward will be to examine a range of products with clearly defined compositions and with a continuity of supply.