Colorant composition and application thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of feed additives, in particular to a coloring agent composition and application thereof. The colorant composition provided by the invention comprises dehydrated xanthophyll and dehydroxanthophyll in a mass ratio of (2-10): 1. The colorant composition has a relatively good coloring effect on animal tissues, and the chromaticity of the animal tissues can be remarkably improved. Compared with a common colorant, the colorant composition can produce a better coloring effect with a smaller feeding amount when being used for feeding animals, and has a better application prospect in livestock and poultry breeding.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of feed additives, and in particular to a colorant composition and application thereof. Background Art

[0002] Adding colorants to feed can color animal tissues by feeding animals. Three yellow chickens are one of the most famous native chickens in China. They are named because of their appearance "three yellows" (yellow feathers, yellow beaks, and yellow claws), and are favored by consumers. The coloring degree of "three yellow" chickens is one of the main sensory indicators to measure the quality of their products, which directly affects their market demand and price. At present, the color, fragrance, taste, nutrition and other qualities of livestock and poultry and aquatic products are mainly improved by adding carotenoid colorants in feeds. For example, the prior art such as patents CN105285443A and CN104982735A improves poultry yolk and skin color by adding carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin in feeds. The prior art such as CN103005185A and CN 104256125A discloses the use of lutein, cantharidin, etc. as the main colorants in three yellow chicken feeds. However, the existing colorants have little improvement in the coloring effect of livestock and poultry tissues, so it is of great significance to provide a colorant that can efficiently color animal tissues. Summary of the invention

[0003] The invention provides a colorant composition and application thereof.

[0004] The present invention unexpectedly discovered in the process of developing a novel colorant for animal tissue coloring that dehydrogenated lutein, dehydrated lutein and ethyl lutein can be used alone or in different combinations thereof to color animal tissues, and unexpectedly discovered that dehydrated lutein has a better coloring effect on the beak of three-yellow chickens, especially when used in combination, dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein are compounded in a specific ratio or dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein are compounded in a specific ratio to produce a synergistic effect on the coloring effect of the beak, tarsus and underwing skin of three-yellow chickens, and the coloring effect is significantly better than the coloring effect of the above components used alone at the same dosage, and the coloring effect is also significantly better than commonly used colorants such as lutein and zeaxanthin.

[0005] Specifically, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a colorant composition comprising dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein in a mass ratio of (2-10):1.

[0007] In the present invention, the dehydrated lutein is dehydrated lutein I, and the chemical formula is C 40 H 54 O. Dehydrolutein is 3'-dehydrolutein, with the chemical formula C 40 H54 O2.

[0008] Both dehydrolutein I and 3'-dehydrolutein can be purchased from commercial sources.

[0009] Animal experiments have shown that when dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein are mixed in the above mass ratio and fed to animals, the animal tissues can produce a better coloring effect, and can also produce a synergistic effect in the coloring of tissues such as the beak, tarsus, and underwing skin. That is, at the same feeding amount, the coloring effect of the dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein in the above ratio is significantly better than the coloring effect of either one fed separately.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present invention, the coloring active ingredient of the composition consists only of dehydrated lutein and dehydrolutein in a mass ratio of (2-10):1.

[0011] The present invention also provides a colorant composition comprising dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein; in the composition, the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to dehydrogenated lutein is (1-10):1, and the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to ethyl lutein is (2-3):1.

[0012] Preferably, the dehydrated lutein is dehydrated lutein I, the dehydrolutein is 3'-dehydrolutein, and the ethyl lutein is 3'-ethyl lutein.

[0013] In the present invention, ethyl lutein is 3'-ethyl lutein, English name 3'-ethyl lutein ether, chemical formula C 42 H 60 O2. 3'-Ethyl lutein has been disclosed in the document "Chi J. Oxidation of Zeaxanthin and characterization of 3'-Alkyl Lutein ethers [J]. 2001", and can be prepared by known methods or purchased through commercial channels.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present invention, the coloring active ingredients of the composition consist only of dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein, wherein the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to dehydrogenated lutein is (1-10):1 (preferably (1-2):1), and the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to ethyl lutein is (2-3):1.

[0015] Animal experiments have shown that when dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein are mixed in the above mass ratio and fed to animals, the animal tissues can produce better coloring effects, and can also produce a synergistic effect in the coloring of the beak, tarsus and underwing skin. That is, at the same feeding amount, the coloring effect of the above-mentioned ratio of dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein is significantly better than the coloring effect of the three fed separately.

[0016] Compared with commonly used colorants (such as lutein, zeaxanthin, etc.), the colorant composition described above can achieve better coloring effect at a significantly lower feeding amount, which is of great significance in reducing the amount and cost of colorant addition and improving coloring effect.

[0017] The colorant composition may consist of the above components alone, or may be further combined with other colorants.

[0018] In a second aspect, the present invention provides any of the following uses of the above-mentioned colorant composition:

[0019] (1) Application in animal tissue staining;

[0020] (2) Application in the preparation of products with animal tissue coloring function;

[0021] (3) Application in the preparation of feed or feed additives;

[0022] (4) Application in improving the chromaticity of animal tissues.

[0023] In the above application, the animal is preferably poultry, more preferably chicken, duck, goose, quail or pigeon, most preferably chicken.

[0024] In the above application, the tissue is preferably skin or a skin derivative, more preferably beak, tarsus or underwing skin.

[0025] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a feed or a feed additive, wherein the feed or the feed additive comprises the colorant composition described above.

[0026] Preferably, the feed can be compound feed, oil feed, vitamin feed, protein feed, energy (carbohydrate) feed, etc.

[0027] In addition to the above-mentioned colorant composition, the feed may also contain one or more selected from energy substances, proteins, oils, vitamins and minerals.

[0028] In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides the use of a combination of one or more selected from dehydrogenated lutein, anhydrolutein, and ethyl lutein in coloring animal tissues or improving the color of animal tissues.

[0029] Preferably, the dehydrated lutein is dehydrated lutein I, the dehydrolutein is 3'-dehydrolutein, and the ethyl lutein is 3'-ethyl lutein.

[0030] Preferably, the application comprises feeding a combination of one or more selected from dehydrogenated lutein, dehydrated lutein, and ethyl lutein to an animal. By feeding a combination of one or more selected from dehydrogenated lutein, dehydrated lutein, and ethyl lutein to an animal, the skin or skin derivative of the animal can be colored.

[0031] In the above application, the animal includes non-human mammals and poultry. Preferably, the animal is poultry. More preferably, the animal is chicken, duck, goose, quail or pigeon. Most preferably, the animal is chicken.

[0032] In the above application, the tissue includes skin or skin derivatives, muscle, fat, eggs, etc. Wherein, the skin derivatives include beaks, feathers, claws, scales, hair, hooves, nails, etc. Preferably, the tissue is tarsus, underwing skin or beak.

[0033] Preferably, the combination of multiple types of the above-mentioned dehydrogenated lutein, dehydrated lutein and ethyl lutein includes: dehydrogenated lutein and dehydrated lutein, or dehydrogenated lutein, dehydrated lutein and ethyl lutein.

[0034] Preferably, the application comprises feeding dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein to animals, wherein the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to dehydrogenated lutein is (2-10):1;

[0035] Alternatively, the application comprises feeding dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein to animals, wherein the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to dehydrogenated lutein is (1-10):1, and the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to ethyl lutein is (2-3):1.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a method for coloring animal tissues, the method comprising: feeding an animal with the colorant composition, feed or feed additive described above.

[0037] In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a method for producing poultry with yellow skin or skin derivatives, the method comprising: feeding the animal with the colorant composition or feed or feed additive described above.

[0038] Preferably, in the above method, the poultry is three-yellow chicken.

[0039] The beneficial effects of the present invention include at least: the colorant composition provided by the present invention has a good coloring effect on animal tissues and can significantly improve the chromaticity of animal tissues. Compared with commonly used colorants (lutein, zeaxanthin, etc.), feeding animals with the colorant composition can produce a better coloring effect with a smaller feeding amount, and has a good application prospect in livestock and poultry breeding. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0041] The dehydrolutein, dehydrated lutein and ethyl lutein in the colorant composition of the present invention can be detected by high performance liquid chromatography, and the detection conditions are as follows:

[0042] Mobile phase: n-hexane: acetone = 81:19, isocratic elution is used for analysis; during the elution process, the flow rate is controlled at 1.1 mL / min; column temperature: 28°C; chromatographic column: Kromasil 100-5SIL (150×4.6 mm, particle size 5 μm); UV detector wavelength: 473 nm; injection volume: 20 μL. The retention time of dehydrated lutein is about 3.6-3.9 min, the retention time of dehydrogenated lutein is about 3.2-3.6 min, and the retention time of ethyl lutein is about 3.9-4.3 min. The content of each component in the composition is calculated by the area normalization method, and the percentage of the peak area of ​​each component to the total peak area is the content ratio of each component in the composition.

[0043] The dehydrogenated lutein used in the following examples is 3'-dehydrogenated lutein, and the dehydrated lutein is dehydrated lutein I, both of which can be purchased from commercial sources. The ethyl lutein used is 3'-ethyl lutein, which can be prepared by the following method:

[0044] 1. Solution preparation: Add 100 μL of concentrated hydrochloric acid to 10 mL of anhydrous ethanol, mix thoroughly to obtain acidic ethanol, and place in a 4°C refrigerator for later use.

[0045] 2. Sample preparation: Weigh 0.1 mg of lutein crystals and slowly add acidic ethanol (about 5 mL) to it until the lutein crystals are completely dissolved; place the mixture in a refrigerator overnight to react for 24 hours to ensure that the reaction is complete; then, add 10 mL of deionized water to the mixture to quench the reaction, and then add 10 mL of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution to neutralize the reaction product to obtain a mixture containing ethyl lutein.

[0046] 3. Separation and purification: Add 100 mL of dichloromethane to the mixed solution obtained in step 2 for liquid-liquid extraction. After sufficient shaking, stand and separate the layers, and collect the dichloromethane layer; repeat the extraction three times, combine the three dichloromethane layers; vacuum concentrate and dry in a cold water bath, and the resulting powder is 3'-ethyl lutein.

[0047] Example 1

[0048] This embodiment provides a colorant composition, which includes dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein in a mass ratio of 2:1.

[0049] Example 2

[0050] This embodiment provides a colorant composition, which includes dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein in a mass ratio of 10:1.

[0051] Example 3

[0052] This embodiment provides a colorant composition, which includes dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein in a mass ratio of 3:1.

[0053] Example 4

[0054] This embodiment provides a colorant composition, which includes dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein in a mass ratio of 3:3:1.

[0055] Example 5

[0056] This embodiment provides a colorant composition, which includes dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein in a mass ratio of 2:1:1.

[0057] Example 6

[0058] This embodiment provides a colorant, which is dehydrated lutein.

[0059] Example 7

[0060] This embodiment provides a colorant, which is dehydrolutein.

[0061] Example 8

[0062] This embodiment provides a colorant, which is ethyl lutein.

[0063] Comparative Example 1

[0064] This comparative example provides a colorant, which is lutein.

[0065] Comparative Example 2

[0066] This comparative example provides a colorant, which is zeaxanthin.

[0067] Comparative Example 3

[0068] This comparative example provides a colorant, which is epoxy lutein.

[0069] Comparative Example 4

[0070] This comparative example provides a colorant composition, which is lutein and zeaxanthin in a mass ratio of 1:1.

[0071] Experimental example Animal experiment verifies the coloring effect

[0072] Yellow-feathered broilers were used as experimental animals to detect the coloring effects of the compositions or colorants of various embodiments and comparative examples on animal tissues, as follows:

[0073] Blank Group

[0074] A total of 48 60-day-old female yellow-feathered broilers (three-yellow chickens, initial body weight 1279±81g) were used. No colorant was added to the blank group feed. There were 6 replicates in the blank group, with 8 chickens in each replicate. The test days were 32 days, including 4 days of adaptation period and 28 days of test period. After the 28-day test period, 3 chickens were randomly selected from each replicate, and the yellowness values ​​of the tarsus and beak of the chickens were measured using a colorimetric fan, and the yellowness value of the skin under the wing area on the side of the chicken was measured using a colorimeter.

[0075] Experimental Group

[0076] 60-day-old female yellow-feathered broilers (three yellow chickens, initial body weight 1279 ± 81g) were used to set test groups 1-13, wherein test groups 1-8 were fed with the composition or colorant of Examples 1-8, respectively, and the composition or colorant was added in the feed in an amount of 0.2%, test groups 9-12 were fed with the composition or colorant of Comparative Examples 1-4, respectively, and the composition or colorant was added in the feed in an amount of 0.2%, and test group 13 was fed with the composition of Comparative Example 4, and the composition or colorant was added in the feed in an amount of 0.4%, and each test group was set with 6 repetitions, each with 8 chickens, and the test days were 32 days, wherein the adaptation period was 4 days and the test period was 28 days. After the end of the test period of 28 days, 3 chickens were randomly selected from each repetition of each group, and the yellowness values ​​of the tarsus and beak of the chicken were measured respectively with a colorimetric fan, and the yellowness value of the skin under the wing area on the side of the chicken was measured with a colorimeter.

[0077] The test results of each group of chickens were averaged, and the results are shown in Table 1. The results show that the coloring effect of the colorant composition of Examples 1-5 on the tarsus, beak and underwing skin of yellow-feathered broilers is significantly better than that of the commonly used colorants (Comparative Examples 1-2 and Comparative Example 4) at the same dosage and the colorant composition of Comparative Example 4 at twice the dosage. Compared with dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein, the coloring effect of another lutein derivative, epoxy lutein, is poor (Comparative Example 3). Dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein are used in combination in a certain proportion (Examples 1-3), and the two can produce a synergistic effect in the coloring of the tarsus, beak and underwing skin. The coloring effect of the combined use is significantly better than the coloring effect of the two used alone, especially the coloring effect of the beak. The combination of dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein (Examples 4-5) can produce a synergistic effect in the coloring of the tarsus, beak and underwing skin, and the coloring effect of the combination is significantly better than the coloring effect of the three used alone.

[0078] Table 1 Coloration of the beak, tarsus and underwing skin of chickens in the blank group and the experimental group

[0079]

[0080]

[0081] Note: a represents the difference between red and green. The higher the a value, the higher the redness and the better the flesh color.

[0082] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A colorant composition, characterized in that The composition comprises dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein in a mass ratio of (2-10):

1.

2. The colorant composition according to claim 1, characterized in that The dehydrated lutein is dehydrated lutein I, and the dehydrogenated lutein is 3'-dehydrogenated lutein.

3. A colorant composition, characterized in that The composition comprises dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein; in the composition, the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to dehydrogenated lutein is (1-10):1, and the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to ethyl lutein is (2-3):1; Preferably, the dehydrated lutein is dehydrated lutein I, the dehydrolutein is 3'-dehydrolutein, and the ethyl lutein is 3'-ethyl lutein.

4. Any of the following uses of the colorant composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3: (1) Application in animal tissue staining; (2) Application in the preparation of products with animal tissue coloring function; (3) Application in the preparation of feed or feed additives; (4) Application in improving the colorimetry of animal tissues.

5. The use according to claim 4, characterized in that: The animal is poultry, preferably chicken, duck, goose, quail or pigeon.

6. The use according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The tissue is skin or a skin derivative, preferably beak, tarsus or underwing skin.

7. A feed or feed additive, characterized in that: The feed or feed additive comprises the colorant composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. Use of one or more combinations selected from dehydrogenated lutein, dehydrated lutein and ethyl lutein in coloring animal tissues or improving the chromaticity of animal tissues; Preferably, the dehydrated lutein is dehydrated lutein I, the dehydrolutein is 3'-dehydrolutein, and the ethyl lutein is 3'-ethyl lutein.

9. The use according to claim 8, characterized in that: The application comprises feeding the animal with a combination of one or more selected from dehydro-lutein, anhydro-lutein and ethyl-lutein.

10. The use according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: The application comprises feeding dehydrated lutein and dehydrogenated lutein to animals, wherein the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to dehydrogenated lutein is (2-10):1; Alternatively, the application comprises feeding dehydrated lutein, dehydrogenated lutein and ethyl lutein to animals, wherein the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to dehydrogenated lutein is (1-10):1, and the mass ratio of dehydrated lutein to ethyl lutein is (2-3):1.

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