Isolation of natural pigments by high speed CCC

Many natural food colorants are highly water soluble, and their separation on a preparative scale still remains a challenge. The use of high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) for the separation of anthocyanins from red wine, betalains from red beet, carotenoids from Gardenia jasminoides, and theaflavic acids from black tea is presented in this paper. Moreover, the purification of carminic acid using the pH-zone refining technique and the isolation of hydrophilic thearubigins from black tea by HSCCC is demonstrated. Isolated compounds can be used for quantification of colorants in foods, for testing of physiological activities, as well, as for monitoring changes that occur during the processing of foods.