CHEMICAL

The study aimed to extract red and yellow natural colors from natural sources. Red pigments were extracted from cactus fruits,red beet,red bougainvillea bracts and red cabbage. Furthermore, yellow pigments were extracted from yellow carrot roots,yellow,orange and yellow bougainvillea bracts. Different extract methods,structure, properties,identification and stability of these pigments were studied. Coloring some food products by these pigments extracts was carried out. The obtained data summarized that the best method to extract betalains from cactus fruits and red beet was 2% citric acid solution, while for red bougainvillea bracts was distilled water. Cactus fruits contained betacyanins, while red beet contained betacyanins and betaxanthins. On other side, red bougainvillea bracts contained only betanidin but with many derivatives. Betalains of cactus fruits were more stable at different conditions than red beet and red bougainvillea bracts. Cactus fruits pigment extract was the best coloring agent. Finally, the extracted pigment could be useful as coloring agent in many food stuffs with application value.