Study on Stability of Red Pigment from Red Melon Seed Shell

In order to find scientific uses for red pigment from red melon seed shell,its stability is studied systematically.The results show that red pigment displays certain regular change under acidic or alkaline conditions respectively,it keeps stable in acid condition and unstable to alkaline.Red pigment is sensitive to light,easy to decompose under light condition and has better stability under dark condition.The thermal stability of pigment is good,H2O2 has decomposition effect on pigment,Na2SO3 has melanogenic effect on pigment.Among the common food additives,salt,sugar and glucose have little effect on pigment,and soluble starch and citric acid have remarkable melanogenic effect.Meanwhile,Na+ has little effect on pigment,Cu2+,K+,Ca2+ and Zn2+ have melanogenic effect.