CHARACTERIZATION OF ANTHOCYANIN-CONTAINING COLORANTS AND FRUIT JUICES BY HPLC PHOTODIODE ARRAY DETECTION

The anthocyanin pigment profiles of commercial black currant, blackberry, black raspberry, elderberry, cherry, plum, grape, bilberry, and red cabbage products were characterized by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/photodiode array detection. Removal of acylated anthocyanins by alkaline hydrolysis and selective removal of anthocyanins on a reversed-phase cartridge with borate buffer were auxiliary techniques that proved helpful in making peak assignments. Both the retention properties on reversed-phase HPLC and the spectral properties by photodiode array detection were used to characterize the anthocyanins. Other properties including tinctoral strength, total anthocyanin concentration, browning, titratable acidity, and Hunter tristimulus values were also determined for these colorants. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.