Natural Pigments and Colorants in Food: Sources, Stability and Applications
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 67
Special Issue Editors
Interests: health; quality; food chemistry; extraction; protein; colorants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: food science; texture; physical properties; color; quality
Interests: phenolic content; quality; antioxidants; color
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Natural pigments and colorants are increasingly recognized as valuable alternatives to synthetic dyes, offering not only attractive sensory properties but also potential health-promoting and functional benefits. These compounds—such as anthocyanins, carotenoids, betalains, and chlorophylls—occur naturally in plants, algae, fungi, and microorganisms, and their diverse structures provide a wide range of hues and bioactivities.
However, the practical application of natural pigments in food systems faces significant challenges, including limited stability against pH, temperature, light, and oxygen, as well as complex interactions with food matrices. To overcome these limitations, innovative stabilization strategies such as coacervation, encapsulation, emulsification, and biopolymer complexation are being developed. Understanding the mechanisms that govern pigment degradation and improving their functionality during processing and storage remain essential for their broader industrial use.
This Special Issue aims to present recent advances in the isolation, characterization, stabilization, and application of natural pigments and colorants in food. We welcome original research articles and reviews addressing analytical methods, encapsulation approaches, technological functionality, sensory and consumer aspects, and regulatory perspectives.
We hope that this Special Issue will contribute to advancing knowledge in this vibrant field and inspire novel strategies for the sustainable and safe use of natural colorants in modern food systems.
Prof. Dr. Marcin Andrzej Kurek
Prof. Dr. Jarosław Wyrwisz
Dr. Małgorzata Moczkowska-Wyrwisz
Dr. Sabina Karp-Paździerska
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- natural colorants
- anthocyanins
- carotenoids
- betalains
- chlorophylls
- encapsulation
- stability
- food applications
- biopolymer interactions
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