Scientists Extract Orange Color From Avocado Seeds for Natural Colorant

Avocado seeds are typically seen as waste by growers. But a new study in the Journal of Food Science found that crushing avocado seeds along with air generates an orange color that may be used as natural coloring for food products in the future.

Avocado seeds account for 16% of the weight of the avocado. The discovery of the natural orange colorant that the seeds yield represents a potential added value for avocado growers and companies that process avocado into oil or food products, like guacamole.

While artificial colors are often easy to produce, stable, less expensive and have better coloring properties than natural colorants, there has been an increased effort to discover new natural alternatives in order to keep up with consumer trends.

Further research is underway by the team of scientists from Pennsylvania State University who conducted this study to assess the potential colorant qualities of the avocado seed extract in model foods and to the potential biological (antioxidant and anticancer) activity of the extract.

Source: Institute of Food Technologists