Leather bergenia as an alternative to synthetic colorants for food systems

The topicality of studying synthetic colorants and a possibility of their strictly regulated application is linked with an increasing producers’ interest in natural food colorants due to the attempt to grant the status of natural products to foods. New data on the content of photosynthetic pigments in leaves of leather bergenia (Вergenia crassifolia (L.) Fitsch) of different periods of vegetation growing in the Republic of Buryatia were obtained in this work. It is shown that it is one of the few plants, which leaves contain a significant amount of carotenoids. Their maximum total content (1257.9 ± 33.1 mmol/mol chlorophyll) was noticed in red leaves of bergenia. Seasonal changes in the complex of photosynthetic pigments in leaves were revealed. For example, the content of chlorophylls in black leaves reduced by four times compared to the amount of pigments in green leaves. Insignificant losses of the pool of green pigments were also observed in red leaves. About 18% of chlorophylls remained in black leaves. During the period after plants’ appearance from under the snow, the content of chlorophyll α increased by 3 times and chlorophyll β by 1.8 times. In leaves of bergenia, β- carotene was found in the composition of carotenoids (30% of the sum of carotenoids). Among xanthophyllic pigments, lutein was found in the prevailing quantity; its proportion accounted for 51% of the sum of carotenoids.