Colors, in general, have been used in food preparations for centuries. It is said that it was in 2600 BC that natural dyes were discovered in China. Additionally, the Egyptians and settlers of the Indus Valley practiced dyeing. Among the dyes used in the past are henna and saffron. The advancement of civilization included the use of dyes in architecture, healthcare, textiles and food. Natural food coloring can be defined as a dye, pigment or compound produced by living things or minerals capable of coloring objects, animals and medicines, cosmetics, beverages and foods. Food pigments are compounds that enhance, modify or restore the color of foods and beverages. In some cases, they help improve taste. Even more, consumers derive one or more health benefits from consuming them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayPlants are among the most widely used sources of natural color. The most obvious plant parts that produce colors are the stem, root, bark, fruit and seeds. A specific example is Leucosceptrum canum. It is a plant found in China. A distinct yellow pigment can be extracted from its flowers. It is used on foods ranging from candies, sauces, sausages, fruit drinks to soft drinks. There are different types of plant pigments. But generally speaking, four fundamental groups can be distinguished. These are betalain pigments, flavonoid pigments, isoprenoid pigments and porphyrin pigments. They all have their own characteristics and distinct problems or challenges. These issues affect the stability of plant-based food colors. Some may lose intensity due to heat. Some may change when exposed to acidic environments, while others may have shown insolubility to certain substances. That being said, manufacturing companies must face these obstacles. They have proven inevitable due to consumer demand for natural products relative to manufacturing costs. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also plays an important role in the use of natural rather than synthetic food colors. Betalain pigments are subdivided into red betacyanins and yellow-orange betaxanthins. However, only red betacyanins are used as food pigments. Betalains vary in color from yellow to red-purple, but are restricted to a single order of flowering plants, Caryophyllales, which includes cacti, bougainvillea, carnations, some carnivorous plants, and red and yellow beets. Phytolacca americana L. is another source of betalains, but it has been banned as a food coloring due to the presence of toxic saponins and lectins. Unexpectedly, betalains are also found in some higher mushrooms such as Amanita muscaria (fly agaric). They are not soluble in oil but are soluble in water. The color of betalains is insensitive to pH ranging from acidic to neutral. The study and characterization of natural and artificial betalain derivatives suffer from two important limitations. These are low solubility in non-aqueous media and hydrolytic instability in aqueous media. According to Slimen et al. 2017, betalains are chemically labile in highly acidic aqueous media, or when the pH is.