Phycocyanin is a key recipe in making blue colored drinks.
Initially, the addition of blue colorants relied on synthetic dyes, which often resulted in allergies or unfavorable taste.
Researchers from Newcastle University found a way of extracting phycocyanin from spirulina. This is by hitting the algae at a specific frequency of light.
The demand for phycocyanin is increasing and more individuals opting for a natural food colorant to artificial colorants.
However, the production of phycocyanin is very costly. The rare blue color is produced due to scattered light and not a pigmentation.
Plants come with a bundle of proteins known as phycocyanin, which is a chemical in nature. It absorbs the long wavelengths of red and orange light colors; splitting them to shorter blue wavelengths.
The phycocyanin pigment is soluble in water and non-toxic to humans, making it an ideal food colorant.
Phycocyanin is also utilized as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant; it has undergone an exponential growth as a food colorant.
How to make blue colored drinks with phycocyanin
The first ingredient required is blue spirulina, ensure that it's 100% natural free from contamination and unpleasant taste.
You'll only need a tablespoon or less of the powder to turn your drink to a blue hue.
Using blue spirulina is cheap as the powder can be utilized on a daily.
However, if you're using it on foods or beverages that are acidic, the color changes.
Simple Benefits of using phycocyanin
1. For energy and athletes
Phycocyanin comes with incredible benefits for athletes and boosting energy for individuals. This is all thanks to its connection with the erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone produced in the liver and kidney.
When cells contain a low level of oxygen, the body signals the production of EPO, which stimulates the production of red blood cells by the bone marrow stem cell.
Hence, more supply of oxygen throughout the body and the rise of mental and physical endurance.
2. Modulation of pain
Another benefit of phycocyanin is the modulation of pain, as it inhibits the cyclooxygenase-2 enzyme that causes inflammation.
This inhibiting occurs due to the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2).
According to one double-blind placebo-controlled human study, individuals using phycocyanin, have a significant reduction of chronic pain while resting and when active.
3. Potential treatment for different cancers
Phycocyanin is a potential treatment for different cancers affecting people according to the Journal of Cancer. This is due to phycocyanin ability in blocking the proliferation of cancer cells, and killing of cancer cells.
Phycocyanin also exerts anti-cancer activity by blocking tumor cell cycle, and induction of tumor cell autophagy and apoptosis.
In conclusion
Phycocyanin contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
It has also seen exponential growth in its usage as a natural food colorant.
To produce more phycocyanin, researchers have placed the pigment under a diet of red light. This is at a precise spectrum, which forces the algae to maximize production. Thus, resulting in five times blue colorant output with the use of red light long-wavelength.
To make a blue drink, all that is needed is the addition of blue phycocyanin to the drink.
If the drink or food is acidic, it will need more of the blue colorant and change to turn to a desired blue color.
Phycocyanin is not only an ideal natural food colorant, but it also comes packed with a lot of health benefits that a user gets to enjoy.
