Copper-containing complexes of chlorophylls and chlorophyllines

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Chlorophyllin
Sweets colored with complexes of chlorophylls containing copper

The copper-containing complexes of chlorophylls and chlorophyllines ( E  141 ) are green. The enrichment of the vegetable pigments chlorophyll and chlorophylline creates stable, color-intensive and wax-like compounds. These dyes appear olive green to dark green, depending on how high the copper and / or magnesium content is. They are more stable to light and heat than copper-free chlorophylls ( E140 ), not resistant to acids and can be dissolved in vegetable oils.

Manufacturing

The chlorophylls are extracted from alfalfa and nettles . In a further chemical reaction, these can be converted into chlorophyllins. Then they are artificially enriched with copper . For this purpose the extract is mixed with copper salts and copper atoms replace the magnesium - central atoms .

use

They are mainly used as food coloring for coloring green vegetables that are preserved in vinegar or brine .

The dyes can be found in:

safety

The chlorophylls are approved in the EU as food additives with the number E 141 for all foodstuffs approved for additives without maximum quantity restriction (qs) . The permitted daily dose is 15 mg / kg body weight (sum of chlorophyll-copper complex and chlorophyllin-copper complex). E 141 is considered to be harmless to health and is largely excreted undigested. Feeding experiments showed no signs of copper accumulation in organs.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Entry on E 141: Copper complexes of chlorophylls and chlorophyllins in the European database for food additives, accessed on June 16, 2020.
  2. a b c d e additives online: copper complexes of chlorophylls, E141