Enzymatic esterification of anthocyanins extracted from food waste for high-value industrial application in cosmetics and food (ANTHOLIP2)

花青素（ANC）是水果、蔬菜和花卉中发现的天然色素。最近，随着食品和化妆品行业渴望天然成分取代合成染料，对ANC的兴趣大幅增加。然而，ANC在食品和化妆品中的使用提出了许多挑战，包括稳定性、与食品或化妆品的相容性以及实现所需的颜色。改善稳定性和应用相容性的一个选择是改性颜料。在我们之前的研究中，我们证明了用天然脂肪酸修饰ANC是可能的，使用酶将两种化合物连接在一起。这个后续项目将改进这些方法，以开发新的、高价值的、天然来源的着色剂，其规模在食品和化妆品应用中具有商业可行性。该项目可能会导致新产品的商业化，并对不同行业领域产生经济影响，从而使整个价值链受益。

Anthocyanins (ANC) are natural pigments found in fruits, vegetables and flowers. Interest in ANC has increased substantially recently as the food and cosmetics industries crave for natural ingredients to replace synthetic dyes. However, use of ANC in the foods and cosmetics presents a number of challenges including stability, compatibility with the food or cosmetic product, and achieving the desired colour. One option for improving stability and application compatibility is modifying the pigments. In our previous research we demonstrated that modifying ANC with natural fatty acids was possible, using enzymes to join the two compounds together. This follow-on project will improve these methods to develop new, high-value, naturally-derived colorants on a scale that is commercially viable for food and cosmetic applications. This project is likely to result in the commercialisation of new products with economic impact in different industrial fields benefiting the whole value chain.