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Achiote (Bixa orellana L.): a natural source of pigment and vitamin E

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Abstract

Commercialization of agricultural products, including seeds and its derived products, represents an important economic source for developing countries. Natural colorants obtained from the seeds of achiote plant (annatto) have been used since pre-Hispanic times. Also, production of this crop has been important for Mayan cuisine. Annual world production of achiote seeds is approximately 14,500 tons (dry weight). Two thirds of the production is commercialized as dried seeds and the rest as colorant. Latin America produces 60% of the total world production, followed by Africa (27%) and Asia (12%). The main producers in Latin America are Peru, Brazil and Mexico. The purpose of the present paper is to review the most recent literature on Bixa orellana L. focusing on bixin, norbixin, tocotrienols and tocopherols biosynthesis, use and industrial applications of annatto extracts, as well as its nutraceutical potential and its benefits for human health.

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Acknowledgements

This review is dedicated to Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana—Iztapalapa, SINAREFI—RED ACHIOTE, and PROMEP, who have supported several research projects to characterize, preserve and propagate the genetic material of achiote (Bixa orellana L.). We thank the CONACYT for their financial support (No. 233307) to Denise Raddatz Mota during her Ph.D. studies. This work is a part of D. Raddatz Ph.D. dissertation. We also thank IT Conkal and CICY for assistance with achiote seed sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Doctorado en Biología Experimental, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, 09340, Iztapalapa, Mexico, D.F., Mexico

    Denise Raddatz-Mota

  2. Laboratorio de Fisiología, Bioquímica y Biología Molecular de Plantas, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud DCBS, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, 09340, Iztapalapa, Mexico, D.F., Mexico

    Laura J. Pérez-Flores, Fernando Díaz de León-Sánchez & Fernando Rivera-Cabrera

  3. Instituto de Biotecnología, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (IB-INTA) y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), PO Box 25, B1712WAA, Castelar, Argentina

    Fernando Carrari

  4. Cátedra Divisional Amelia Samano Bishop, Universidad Autónoma, Metropolitana, Iztapalapa, Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades, Plantel Casa Libertad, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México, México, D.F., México

    José A. Mendoza-Espinoza

  5. Instituto Tecnológico de Conkal, 97345, Conkal, Yucatán, Mexico

    Luis L. Pinzón-López

  6. Unidad de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular de Plantas, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán (CICY), 97200, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico

    Gregorio Godoy-Hernández

Authors
  1. Denise Raddatz-Mota
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  2. Laura J. Pérez-Flores
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  3. Fernando Carrari
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  4. José A. Mendoza-Espinoza
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  5. Fernando Díaz de León-Sánchez
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  6. Luis L. Pinzón-López
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  7. Gregorio Godoy-Hernández
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  8. Fernando Rivera-Cabrera
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fernando Rivera-Cabrera.

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Raddatz-Mota, D., Pérez-Flores, L.J., Carrari, F. et al. Achiote (Bixa orellana L.): a natural source of pigment and vitamin E. J Food Sci Technol 54, 1729–1741 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-017-2579-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-017-2579-7

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