Heat and pH stable curcumin-based hydrophilic colorants obtained by the solid dispersion technology assisted by spray-drying

Natural food colorants are on demand due to food safety concerns related with some synthetic counterparts. Health-friendly alternatives can be available from plant sources, which include curcumin extracted from Curcuma longa L. However, its industrial use is difficult to achieve due to the low water affinity, pH and thermal instability, which is particularly challenging, e.g. for baked foods. In this work, the solid dispersion technique followed...