One of the most important factors for food commercialization is the visual impact due to color. Among the natural colors, annatto preparations are the most consumed colorant by Brazilian industries. From the total amount of annatto seeds commercialized in Brazil, 25% is used on the preparation of oily soluble and aqueous soluble extracts, and the remainder is used to manufacture the spice "colorífico", which is totally consumed by the domestic market mainly for home preparation. The aim of the present study was to determine bixin and norbixin amounts in annatto spices found in the market, by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). For this purpose, C18 column (Spherisorb ODS-2, 150x4.6mm, 3mum) and acetonitrile/acetic acid 2% (65:35) as mobile phase at 1mL/min were employed. The carotenoids were identified by their chromatographic behavior and UV-visible spectra obtained by the diode array detector and quantified by external standardization. Seven different brands of colorífico were analyzed (two to five lots from each brand), totaling 25 samples. The main coloring component found in the different brands was bixin, varying from 154 to 354mg/100g. Norbixin was detected in trace amounts (2 -- 9mg/100g). The variation of carotenoid levels among lots of the same brand was small, whereas, among different analyzed brands, the variation was wide.
carotenoids; annatto; spice; colorífico; bixin; norbixin
