Extraction and Stability of Anthocyanins Present in the Skin of the Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus undatus)

María de Lourdes Vargasy Vargas, Jorge Abraham Tamayo Cortez, Enrique Sauri Duch, Andrés Pech Lizama, Carlos Hernán Herrera Méndez

Agroindustrial Engineering Department, Campus Celaya-Salvatierra, Universidad de Guanajuato, Salvatierra, México.
Research and Postgraduate Division, Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida, Mérida, Mexico.

DOI: 10.4236/fns.2013.412156                

Abstract

The extraction of anthocyanins present in the skin of the dragon fruit was performed using trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) plus a mixture of methanol, acetic acid and water; the anthocyanins were then purified with a LC-18 cartridge, using methanol acidified with TFA as eluent, reaching concentrations of 44.3865 ± 1.3125 mg/100g of sample. The extracts were put through stability tests under different storage conditions, modifying the pH of the extracts (pH of 1, 4 and 6), the temperature (4℃, 25℃ and 68℃) and the absence and presence of light for a time period of 4 days; the tests indiated that anthocyanins remain more stable at a temperature of 4℃ with a pH of 4 in the absence of light, retaining up to 80% of the pigment. Three anthocyanins were partially identified in the extracts by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); they were: cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, cyanidin 3,5 O-glucoside and pelargonidin 3,5 O-glucoside.

Keywords

Anthocyanins; Dragon Fruit; Stability

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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