Are natural colours healthy? Do natural colours impart nutritional value? Can we make functional claims when we use natural colours in our product? We get these types of questions often, especially with the increase in the “functional foods” market segment. In this article we’ll provide some clarity around this topic.

The short answer is no – most natural colours do not provide nutritional value to an end product. This is because the majority of natural colours used in food production are isolated pigments, meaning the colour has been selectively extracted from the raw material in order to create extremely concentrated colours for the sole purpose of colouring food and beverage applications.

But you used vitamin C in the natural colour formulation. Doesn’t that provide a health benefit? The answer is still no. In order to make colours suitable for food or beverage applications they are often formulated with food additives and other ingredients.

Vitamins like vitamin C can be used to help stabilize some natural colours like carotenoids, and minerals like calcium or sodium can be used to stabilize others, providing them minor amounts of micronutrients. But the vitamin or mineral content is typically very low, and when considering the dosage range – usually around 0.1 – 1.0% in the final product – that means that the contribution of these nutrients to the finished product would be negligible.

Another example is when using an emulsifier to make an oil soluble colour suitable for water-based applications, or a carrier like maltodextrin to make a powder colour. In these cases, natural colours may contain macronutrients like carbohydrates, lipids, or proteins, with negligible contribution to the end product nutritional label.

But it’s also important to understand why consumers might think that natural colours have nutritional value or health benefits.

Pigments in their original environment in a raw material – like beets, berries, or turmeric root – have biological functions that came about as evolutionary advantages that are sometimes translated to functional properties. Here we’ll dive into a few of the most common ones, if only for the purpose of awing ourselves on the marvels of the interaction of living organisms through chemistry.

Anthocyanins – these wonderful tiny molecules are responsible for the colors of most berries and red, blue, and violet flowers. Some studies* suggest they may have protective effects by neutralizing free radicals, controlling inflammation and positively affecting the cardiovascular, endocrine and microcirculatory systems, besides modulating the gut microbiota.

Beet roots – are rich in betalains (betacyanins and betaxanthis) and studies show* they exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Some athletes use beet root extracts as food supplements with hopes to improve physical performance, muscle efficiency and reduce exercise caused fatigue

Carotenoids – Another group of powerful antioxidants that provide warm yellows, oranges, and reds. They are auxiliary pigments for the photosynthesis process and studies show* they may contribute to the protection of tissues – of both the plants and microorganisms that synthesize them as well as the animals that consume them.

Chlorophyll – here we’ll mention a feature not very well known, but probably intuitive, from chlorophyll derivatives. Due to their affinity for other organic molecules, studies suggest* they can be used as internal deodorant, helping to neutralize body odors in colostomy patients and also by those that suffer trimethylaminuria. And we say intuitive, because who has not resorted to granny’s advice of chewing celery, parsley, or cilantro to control breath and BO?

Curcumin – A bright and neon-like yellow pigment. This flavonoid is extracted from turmeric root, which is widely used in It has been studied* for its anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties and is one of the examples of bioactive substances that have successfully jumped from the table to the nutraceutical field.

Although there is no scientific evidence showing that natural colors have nutritional value as food additives with a direct correlation to health benefits, natural colors are made from natural sources that are well known by consumers. This confers a ‘wellness halo’ to foods and drinks that are naturally colored that may lead consumers to choose products colored with natural sources over other options.

While natural colours may not have nutritional benefits, they certainly do improve the consumer experience of foods and beverage. Click here to learn about our other experience-improving solutions, like flavours, textures, and fragrances!

*Check out the studies below for additional reading on these pigments.