Natural dyes extraction from cochineal (Dactylopius coccus). New extraction methods

Carminic acid is a natural colourant that can be obtained from the dried bodies of females of the Dactylopius coccus Costa insect species (cochineal). Carminic acid is the main pigment that can be extracted from the cochineal insect. Its main use is with cosmetics, foods and pharmaceutical applications and it can also have textile and plastic applications. The traditional extraction methods employed to obtain this dye involve several drawbacks, e.g. high extraction time, low selectivity and low extraction efficiency. Moreover, these conventional techniques need toxic solvents. In this work, new extraction methods have been studied in order to avoid the disadvantages mentioned above. Pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) techniques provide high selectivity and short extraction times.