In modern society, synthetic dyes have gradually been replaced by natural dyes, and products made from natural dyes are increasingly favored by consumers, especially since many natural dyes are inherent components of food. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to search for and develop edible natural dyes. This article presents a preliminary study on the nutritional value of sour tangerine fruit, the extraction of its pigments, and their stability.
【Benefits and Uses of Sour Tangerine Fruit】
Sour tangerine fruit, a Chinese medicinal herb, is the dried mature fruit of the plant sour tangerine. It is also known as sour qianzi, sour tengtou, xintongzi, and xian suanguo, and is distributed in Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan and other regions. It has the effects of blood nourishment, astringency, and hemostasis, and is commonly used for blood deficiency and gum bleeding.
【Benefits of Sour Tangerine Fruit】
The roots and leaves of sour tangerine fruit can disperse stasis and relieve pain, astringe and stop diarrhea, treat bruises and swelling, enteritis and diarrhea, pharyngitis, low stomach acid, dysmenorrhea, and amenorrhea. The fruit can be eaten and strengthens blood. The roots and leaves are used in veterinary medicine to treat bloating and thirst caused by cattle injuries and heat sickness.
【Characteristics of Sour Tangerine Fruit】
Sour tangerine fruit is spherical or ellipsoid, with a diameter of 3-8mm, and its surface is green-brown or gray-purple, often with wrinkles. The top has a remnant of the pistil, and the bottom is often attached to a 2-5mm long pedicel and small calyx.
The fruit peel is brittle and easy to peel off; the seed is often covered by a brown seed coat, and the kernel is hard, with a yellow-white horny appearance on the cross-section, and on the outer side, there are patterns of the seed coat embedded in the endosperm. It has a slight odor, a mild taste, and a spicy and numbing sensation when chewed for a long time.
The berry is spherical, red or purplish-black when ripe, dark brown when dry, with a diameter of 5-6mm, smooth, with longitudinal wrinkled ridges and a few glandular dots. It has a slight odor and a sour and sweet taste.
【Clinical Applications of Sour Tangerine Fruit】
1. "Jingzhu Materia Medica" records that sour tangerine fruit can kill insects and raise gastric temperature. The fruit is pale red and makes a sound when shaken, resembling a bean.
2. "Metaphorical Descriptions" records that sour tangerine fruit has slender stems, gray leaves, small size, rough texture; blue-red flowers, small size; the fruit is like a frosted bean, with a sour and sweet taste. Its effects can treat insect diseases.
3. "Calculations of the Sun and Moon's Rotation" records that sour tangerine fruit has a pungent and sharp taste, can kill insects, treat gray edema, and has a sharp nature that can cause diarrhea. According to research, this matches the description in "Jingzhu Materia Medica".
4. "Luchuan Materia Medica": has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It can treat oral inflammation, pharyngitis, gingivitis, and ulcers. It can also detoxify the poison of Dahua tea, wood mushrooms, and croton seeds.
5. "Handbook of Commonly Used Chinese Medicinal Herbs": treats gastric acid deficiency and gum bleeding with 2-3 qian of fresh sour tangerine fruit, decocted in water.
Sour tangerine fruit is blood-nourishing, but people with thick blood viscosity should not consume it, as it may lead to blood clotting.
【Nutrition and Pigment Research on Sour Tangerine Fruit】
The nutritional value of sour tangerine fruit, as well as factors such as pH, temperature, ultraviolet light, and food additives, all have an impact on the pigments of sour tangerine fruit. Experts believe that sour tangerine fruit is rich in nutrients and is a natural plant pigment resource with great development potential.
In addition to containing a certain amount of nutrients, the fruit peel and flesh of sour tangerine fruit also contain floral pigments. Sour tangerine fruit pigment is safe as an additive colorant in processed foods and has certain development and utilization value.
According to statistics, there are more than 2,000 plant species in the world that contain pigments, but currently in China, only a few species such as turmeric, gardenia yellow, safflower yellow, cocoa pigment, marigold yellow, and chlorophyll copper sodium are used. Many varieties still require further research. The use of sour tangerine fruit as a colorant in processed foods has not been reported.
Sour tangerine fruit has a high content of floral pigments, which are not only non-toxic to the human body but also have certain nutritional value. It is a plant pigment with great development potential. Currently, the colorants used in food production are divided into synthetic dyes and natural dyes. Modern medicine has shown that synthetic dyes not only have no nutritional value but are also detrimental to human health.
