Source

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant.Other names include Sallflower, Beni, Chimichanga, or Carthamus tinctorius and in Pashto it is called Kareza (as it is found abundantly in Afghanistan and Tribal belts of Pakistan).

Traditionally, the crop was grown for its seeds, and used for coloring and flavoring foods, in medicines, and making red (carthamin) and yellow dyes, especially before cheaper aniline dyes became available.Dried safflower flowers ( honglanhua,caohonghua, cihonghua) are used in traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate pain, increase circulation, and reduce bruising. They are included in herbal remedies for menstrual pain and minor physical trauma.

 

Main bio-actives

Carthamin is a natural red pigment derived from safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), earlier known as carthamine.It is used as a dye and a food coloring. as a food additive, it is known as Natural Red 26.

Carthamin was used as a dye in ancient Egypt. It was used extensively in the past for dyeing wool for the carpet industry in European countries and to create cosmetics for geisha and kabuki artists in Japan, where the color is called beni.It competed with the early synthetic dye fuchsine as a silk dye after fuchsine's 1859 discovery.

the carthamin is biosynthesized from a chalcone (2,4,6,4'-tetrahydroxychalcone) and two glucose molecules to give safflor yellow A and with other glucose molecule, safflor yellow B. The next step is the formation of precarthamin and finally carthamin.

 

Application

Safflower Yellow can be widely used in the coloring of beverage, wine, candy.Canned fruit, ice cream, ice-lolly, jelly, preserved fruit. It can also be used in fields includes: Pharmaceuticals /Cosmetics,skin care product /Dyes/Food additive /Dietary supplement.

the usage reference for 50 CV is 0.01~0.02%.the usage quantity can be decrease if the CV is more than 50.

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