Final Research
Abstract
Commercial food products contain dyes that have no nutritional benefit whatsoever and are just in these products to attract consumers. Analysis of a commercial drink Gatorade purple was tested for food dyes concentration of Blue 1 and Red 40. The resulting graphs showed proof of these dyes in the drink but full composition of the drink could not be obtained due to changing conditions.
Introduction
Food dyes, synthesized originally from coal tar and now petroleum, have long been controversial. Many dyes have been banned because of their adverse effects on laboratory animals. Therefore, these food dyes might be hazardous in certain quantities to people, so it is imperative that these food dyes made by companies are always researched upon and analyzed to make sure that they are being consumed at the right concentrations inside foods that they are mixed with. Using the UV-Vis and the HPLC, analysis of food dyes and discovery of their components at particular concentrations becomes possible. Brilliant blue commonly known as food blue 1 or FD and C blue 1 is a synthetic blue dye that is used in foods, drugs and cosmetics and many more. Red 40 also known as Allura Red is a monoazo dye that is used widely in a range of food products and drinks to display different shades of red in the foods they are in. Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 have long been known to cause allergic reactions in some people. CSPI says that while those reactions are not common, they can be serious and provide reason enough to ban those dyes. Furthermore, numerous studies have demonstrated that dyes cause hyperactivity in children. Being able to analyze the dye through the HPLC and the UV-Vis is therefore important and would be able to quantify its abundance in the consumable products that is found around us.
Experimental Methods
Stock solutions of Red 40 and Brilliant Blue 1 were made to concentrations of approximately 10-4M using distilled deionized water and the water was pipetted into the dye powder for accurate measurements of water dilutions. Dye concentration in food product was calculated from making standard curves for both food dyes and to find the molar absorptivity coefficients of each food dye of Red 40 and Blue 1. Solution of food dye to be analyzed was obtained from local shopping market and was not diluted since it did not look too concentrated in color. In making a standard curve for both dyes the UV/Vis instrumentation was used to collect all different dilutions from stock solution of both dyes Red 40 and Blue 1. Dilutions from stock solutions were made by halving each previous solution using serial dilution calculations. These were done to both of the stock solution of dyes until there were at least three dilutions from the stock solution prepared. The following molar masses were used for Red 40 and Blue 1 respectively; 496.42g/mol and 792.85g/mol. All of these samples were measured in the UV/Vis against water to obtain absorption maxima of the different concentration of mixtures.