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| Action: aphrodisiac, astringent, digestive, diuretic, douche, excitant,
expectorant, insect repellent, styptic, venereal Used to Treat: burns, cancer, depurative, diabetes, dysentery, epilepsy, erysipelas, fainting, fever, flu, gonorrhea, headache, inflammation, jaundice, oliguria, stomatitis Contains: vitamin A, vitamin D The red seed is made into a skin dye, and it used to flavor rice. It is used as an antidote to prussic acid poisoning caused by poorly treated cassava. When taken internally, the seeds tint the skin bronze, and are used in sunless tanning preparations. It is hard to believe that the rich golden color of cheddar cheese actually comes from a plant. This orange-yellow color, called Annatto, is extracted from the seed coats of a tropical tree, Bixa orellano. The tree has heart-shaped leaves and small pink to white flowers bearing pods, which on maturing, contain hundreds of rust-colored seeds. The rust-colored resinous material surrounding the seed is the source of Annatto. Annatto is very heat-fast up to 120o C and compared to other natural colors, relatively light-stable. As for the carotenoids, the Annatto pigment is relatively steady in unit operations such as blanching, retorting and freezing. One of the interesting advantages in using of the Annatto is the easiness coloring in determinating the color contents. The two major pigments, Bixin (an oil soluble carotenoid pigment occurring naturally on the surface of the Bixa orellana L. seed) and Norbixin (a water soluble carotenoid pigment formed from bixin by alkaline hydrolysis) produce organte solution.
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