Characterisation of anthocyanins from Garcinia indica Choisy

The present study deals with isolation and characterisation of anthocyanins present in Garcinia indica Choisy (popularly known as kokum), which is a potential source of a natural food colourant. The kokum was found to contain a very high concentration of anthocyanins (2.4 g/100 g of kokum fruit), compared to other natural sources. Acid hydrolysis ascertained that this anthocyanin consisted of a single aglycone, i.e., cyanidin. A comparison of saponified and unsaponified fraction indicated that the pigment was not acylated. HPLC, mass and NMR spectroscopy analyses confirmed that the pigment essentially contains two anthocyanins, which were identified as cyanidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-sambubioside.